Someone To You
by hiraethstars
Summary: Everybody dreams of being a wizard, being able to use magic to make all of our lives easier and going to school with people like Harry Potter or Hermione Granger. But life as a witch or wizard is not that easy - especially when you don't fit into the expectations of you family at all.
1. Chapter 1- Introduction

Someone To You - darkdreamlove

Harry Potter; George Weasley x OC

'Believe it or not …'

Written: darkdreamlove

[1] Diagon Alley

The dark Manor stood upon a hill like a majestic castle looking like it belonged to a rich family, not visible to people who did not know about the wizarding world. It was hidden to protect the wizards living there from intruders and curious muggles. Although it did not guarantee any safety from other wizards who might not have the best intentions.

The family living in the impressive Manor was famous in their world. The Malfoys might not be the most popular family in the world of magic but they were able to buy their way through anything with their money.

The head of the family, Lucius Malfoy, was a former Death Eater claiming to have been under the Imperius Curse while serving the Dark Lord. He had all the qualities you would expect from a rich pureblood Wizard under the name Malfoy.

His wife Narcissa was a direct descendant of the famous house of Black. Although possessing better qualities than her husband, it still was certain where she belonged.

They had two children; their youngest son, Draco, who could be the exact copy of Lucius as a young boy and their oldest daughter, Lyra, who wasn't anything like the rest of the family. She had her mother's long blonde hair and her father's gray eyes, but aside from those physical features she could be mistaken as the daughter of someone else entirely. Lyra was as charming as her little brother, confident, intelligent and sometimes ahead of her age. She honored her family greatly and every tradition they submitted her to.

The day our story starts was a cloudy and rainy day with no sunshine whatsoever. It was early morning on a rather average Tuesday in July, when the young Malfoy girl came down the wide staircase into a great hall that was their dining room.

"Mother!?", she shouted looking around excitedly for the tall, blonde woman. A loud shattering noise was heard from behind her and Lyra turned around, not surprised to see her father's house elf standing right in front of her. "Misses Malfoy wanted Dobby to tell the young Miss Malfoy that she would have to visit Diagon Alley with the little Mister Malfoy alone today, Miss. The Misses also wanted Dobby to inform the young Miss that she was allowed to buy anything required for her first year at Hogwarts, Miss.", the elf spoke in his squeaky voice, making Lyra shiver slightly.

Her excitement died immediately and a feeling of dread settled in her stomach. She didn't know why she had hoped her mother and father would actually accompany her and Draco on their little shopping tour to Diagon Alley. She couldn't possibly know what her parents were doing on a day like this but she didn't dare ask them. Lyra only sighed and nodded for Dobby to leave, who followed her silent orders immediately.

Lyra made her way up the grand staircase again before turning right and walking down a long, ominous corridor. She stopped in front of a large wooden door and sighed once more. She really had been hoping for at least her mother to go with her for her first trip to Diagon Alley in assignment of Hogwarts. It wasn't as if she did not know her way around there, she basically knew the Alley by heart, it was just that she would be buying her wand today and that was something really special she would have loved her mother to accompany her for.

She sighed one last time before knocking on her brother's door five times and entering after hearing his call.

"Are you ready to go, Draco?" She immediately asked as she entered the room. "Mother and father won't be coming with us but we are still allowed to buy anything we need." Lyra smiled brightly at her nine-year old brother. Although he could be an arrogant devil sometimes, she still absolutely adored him. They had a really strong bond as siblings, ever since the day Draco was born.

Looking up at his older sister, Draco seemed to think about whether he would comment on the fact that his parents were leaving them to go alone or not. He quickly decided against it when he saw the look behind his sister's eyes and returned Lyra's smile with one evenly as bright. "I'm good to go. We'll have lots of fun today won't we? Remember that you promised me we wouldn't spend all day at 'Flourish & Blotts'! And you also said we would go to 'Quality Qudditch Supplies' and look at some brooms as well as go and visit Florean; we haven't seen him in ages! I mean I know we're going there to buy your wand and stuff, but still...", the young boy kept rambling while walking past his sister, down the staircase and to their library.

They would use the Floo Powder System because Apparating wasn't an option with their parents not being there. While listening to her brother, who was still talking, but now about how excited he was to have their part of the Manor for himself for all of the following year, Lyra nonchalantly grabbed a hand full of Floo Powder and looked expectantly at her younger sibling. Draco immediately shut his mouth when he saw his sisters face. "Go on, Draco, get in. You'll go first so I can make sure you don't end up anywhere you shouldn't be."

Full of confidence Draco grabbed a hand full of the magical powder, threw it into the fireplace and stepped right into the now green flickering flames. Loud and clear he spoke the words 'Diagon Alley' before disappearing into the flames. Lyra, proud of her brother's improvement and of herself for not freaking out too much, did the same as Draco and in mere seconds she stood in the middle of the Floo Powdering Office of Diagon Alley.

This was their first time using Floo Powder without any help by their parents or one of the house elves looking after them and she felt insanely proud of herself and Draco for it. Dusting off her black robes, she looked around the office just to find Draco right next to a girl with dark brown hair. Lyra already knew that today would be a busy day at Diagon Alley. It wasn't as bad weather in London as it was in Wiltshire; the young girl could see the sun poking through the windows of the room a little bit.

Additionally, the new year at Hogwarts would be starting soon and some shops had amazing Sales going on, which brought many wizards here around this time a year.

Smiling, Lyra approached the young girl who stood in front of her parents and Draco. The man behind the girl looked up. Lyra saw that he wasn't really pleased to see her here. It was one of her father's close allies she had never really bothered to find a liking in, although that feeling was evidently mutual.

"Ah, the young Miss Malfoy, what a pleasure to see you here." The man began, poison staining his voice as he spoke. "Your brother already informed us about your situation, so if you would like to go with us for the day; we would be more than glad to help." Lyra wrinkled her nose. The man was talking in a voice that reminded her a lot of her fathers. The whole family in front of her looked rather displeased to see her here and gladly she didn't have a problem with that.

"No, but thank you, Mister Parkinson. Draco and I are here to buy my supplies for Hogwarts and we wouldn't want to keep you from enjoying you day to the fullest." Lyra smiled falsely at the old man before excusing herself and her brother from the family.

She had always disliked the Parkinsons and they had disliked her. She had been friends with the young girl, Pansy, through Draco a long time ago. But some day the brown haired girl just became annoying and arrogant and Lyra decided she already had enough of that in her life.

And although Draco felt exactly the same way about Pansy, he still pretended to be friends with her. It was just something that he did. 'You never know when it will come in handy' had been his explanation. Lyra had just laughed and shrugged it off; that sounded strangely like a quote out of one of her books. Draco's way was probably the smarter one, as Lyra got scolded for not 'behaving properly' mre often than not.

Side by side, the siblings wandered down the alley, only stopping in front of a shop that wasn't as crowded as the others. The lettering over the wooden door said 'Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions' in beautiful cursive lettering, making it stand out from the other surrounding shops.

Lyra sighed as they walked up the stairs; this wasn't what she had hoped for. She had no idea how to approach the kind looking woman who stood behind the front desk and was scribbling something down in a notebook. Normally her mother would have started making friendly conversation by now, but Lyra had absolutely no idea how she was supposed to do that. Talking really wasn't her thing, but she couldn't exactly rely on her bratty little brother to do it for her.

After sighing once again, Lyra opened the door and a bell rang. To her surprise the woman behind the desk reacted immediately to the new customer, not giving Lyra any time to say anything. Instead Madam Malkin's face lit up, giving Lyra a quick check with roaming eyes before approaching the young girl.

"Oh! Another Hogwarts student! And such a pretty one at that. These eyes – such beautiful eyes, really. And the hair – admirable! Your first year, young lady? I'm fairly sure it is! As far as I remember I haven't seen this pretty face in here or I would surely remember … Follow me, dear! The usual isn't it? … If you would just stand here; I need to take you measurements." The woman seemed really excited to see Lyra in her shop - she didn't even notice Draco, who had moved a bit closer to his sister out of suspicion but now was forced into a seat by another young man, who seemed to be the assistant.

While having her measurements taken by Madam Malkin, Lyra answered any question the witch had and took every compliment with a polite nod and a smile. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Draco who had his shoulders pulled back and his head held high, usually a sign of him not feeling comfortable whatsoever. She hoped the kind, but overwhelming, witch wouldn't take too long with her robes. This was going to be a long day either way but it didn't have to be dragged even longer.

Shortly after finishing that thought, Madam Malkin smiled at her and told her that she was all done. Lyra returned the polite smile and had to smirk as she heard the relieved sigh of her little brother while he attempted to jump out of his seat as graciously as possible, before following his sister up to the front desk. They paid three Galleons and eight Sickles before heading towards the entrance door.

"Have fun at Hogwarts, dear. I don't lie when I tell you it is the most wonderful place on earth." Before stepping out onto the street, Lyra turned around one last time, giving the woman a short wave. She hadn't met someone so nice and positive for a while now.

Making sure Draco was right behind her, Lyra started making her way down the alley and through the crowds again. She hadn't expected this many people to be here after all. Usually Diagon Alley was less crowded and could be easily overlooked. Now you could hardly see the shops or even some of the lettering over entrance doors. Feeling uneasiness creeping its way into her gut, the young Malfoy girl kept looking behind to ensure herself that her little brother didn't get lost.

The two siblings made their way through various shops, such as 'Potage's Cauldron Shop' and 'Amanuensis Quills' without any distractions. After around two and a half hours only few things from Lyra's Hogwarts letter were left to buy.

Draco had started complaining after they had left 'Scribbulus Writing Instruments'. First he started complaining about the heat which led the two to 'Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour', then he complained about how all day they'd been shopping for Lyra and not once had they looked for anything for him - not quite the truth - which was why they went to 'Quality Quidditch Supplies' and bought him a new Servicing Kit for his beloved broomstick. He had stopped complaining after that but when he realised which shop would be next he groaned. He might not have hated 'Flourish & Blotts' all that much if it wouldn't have been his sister's favorite shop and she wouldn't spend countless amounts of hours in there whenever they visited.

Lyra, very aware of the fact that her brother wasn't looking forward to their next stop, turned around and looked Draco in the eyes. "Look; I promise that this time isn't going to take all that long. I'm just going to get my school books and the books Mother has written down here, alright? We'll be out of there before you can say Quidditch three times!" The girl tried for a reassuring smile. She understood Draco's struggle with excepting her love for books and as desperately as she wanted to just send Draco to go wherever he wanted so she could spend forever in this beautiful shop, she would get in deep trouble if Draco let just one little unintentional word slip. Instead of going after her desires she gave her little brother one more promising glance, before walking into the store, fully set on doing as she promised.

Immediately as she entered, she saw at least three books she wanted to grab and take with her but all she did was walk past, seemingly unbothered. She walked up to the front desk and smiled at the employee. The man smiled back at her. "Miss Malfoy, good to see you here again. Which books did you choose today?"

"I haven't yet and I probably won't today. I'm here to pick up the books for my first year at Hogwarts and a few books my mother has ordered a few days ago." She kept smiling at the man, sighing as her cauldron hit the wooden surface of the front desk.

The old man didn't stop smiling either - he looked rather pleased even.

"I expected as much, Ma'am." With a flick of his wand two separate stacks of books came flying onto the desk and landed in perfect order next to each other. "That will be 7 Galleons and 5 Sickles for you school books and 2 Galleons and 8 Sickles for your mothers order."

The young girl paid for her books, waving the older man goodbye before leaving the store.

She found Draco sitting on a bench reading a thin book - probably about Quidditch. After having a short argument about how long Lyra had been in 'Flourish & Blotts', which Lyra let Draco win out of pure exhaustion, they made their way through the other shops.

They went to 'Wiseacre's Wizarding Equipment' to get Lyra a brass scale and a telescope and to the Apothecary where they bought the glass phial for potions class.

Lyra also decided to buy a Tawny Owl as a pet in 'Eyelops Owl Emporium'- who she named Amelyn - much to Draco's dismay because he had to carry the owl who didn't seem to be very fond of the youngest Malfoy, trying to pick at his face every now and then.

They both were packed with things and Lyra couldn't feel her left arm anymore- the cauldron with the books was way too heavy. The sun had already set behind the roofs of the many shops of Diagon Alley, the street barely being lightened up by the light of dusk.

The siblings stumbled down the street, stopping only when in front a shop with a ominous black exterior. It was rather narrow and shabby. The gold lettering above the door read 'Ollivanders: Makers of Fine Wands since 382 BC.'

This would be the most exciting part of the whole day and even Draco stopped looking grumpy as they entered the shop. It was dark inside. There was a spindly chair in one corner of the shop, Draco quickly claiming it for himself after putting Amelyn down carefully and throwing the other things carelessly next to the owl's cage. There was a noise that sounded strangely like a glass breaking and Lyra sighed - she would have to let that be repaired with magic.

She threw a strict glance at her brother - who just shrugged and leaned back in his seat - while setting down her cauldron and the package with owl treats, before standing in front of the black wooden desk in the middle of the shop. Lyra took a look around; there were thousands of narrow boxes piled right up to the ceiling. Some very neatly others just looking like they'd been carelessly thrown on top of one another. She didn't have to guess to know that each one held a wand that was special and different from all the other ones in the shop.

She jumped when she heard the sound of a soft voice greeting her with a warm "Good Afternoon, Miss Malfoy."

Standing in front of her was an old man with white hair and deep wrinkles covering his features. Although dark circles formed under his eyes, he seemed more awake than Lyra or Draco at the moment.

Lyra had of course heard about the famous Ollivander from her parents but she hadn't imagined him to know her name. He had probably seen thousands of wizards in his life - why would he know her name?

She was pretty sure that she hadn't voiced her thought out loud but still got an answer by the old man.

"Ah, I have been told not to do that anymore- people claim it scares people. You are just so unmistakably your mother's daughter. Fourteen inches long, not very flexible, dragon heartstring core, walnut wood - very loyal wand, won't be easy to get rid of."

Lyra didn't feel like she could do anything but nod. She couldn't know if it was true what Ollivander was telling her but his big eyes scared her. Again, she felt uneasiness overtake her.

When she took a glance at her little brother, she saw that he had closed his eyes and was snoring lightly, not reassuring her either.

"Ah, I see that the young Mister Malfoy has taken a trip into a light sleep. Oh well - we will be done in less than ten minutes I'm sure. … Let me see-"

Suddenly the man was in the back of his shop, seemingly taking a look at a few wands. Lyra could only hope that the right wand would find her rather quickly. It wasn't just that she didn't really feel comfortable in the dusty shop - she was also really tired and needed to get some sleep. She felt a little jealous of her brother for being able to take a quick nap for as long as his sister was waiting on her wand.

"Ah, let's try this one – eleven inches, dragon heartstring core, mahogany wood. Just give it a short wave." Ollivander handed her the white wand and then looked at the young girl curiously.

Lyra hesitated but then did as told - much to everyone's dismay. The wand maker quickly snapped the wand out of Lyra's hand as the young girl heard a gasp behind her. Draco had woken up - it seemed like everyone had felt the weird energy coming from the young girl as she was holding that wand. - She wondered if it had meant anything. But if it had, wouldn't Ollivander have said something?

Mister Ollivander had hurried into the back of his shop again not seeming very pleased with what had just occurred himself.

He came back with two other boxes in his hand. "Let us try this one, Miss Malfoy; ebony and unicorn hair, eight and a half inches, springy. - Go on, don't worry."

Hesitating once again, Lyra waved the wand - feeling a bit foolish - with the eyes of her brother on her back. Almost instantly after the quick wave, Mr. Ollivander reached for the wand in her hand and shook his head.

The old man kept murmuring things. 'A Malfoy's wand hasn't been so hard to find in ages' or 'No, no - this surely won't be it' while unpacking another wand and eyeing it suspiciously.

"No offense to you or your family, Miss Malfoy, but if this wand is the right one, I will be surely surprised. Go on - give it a wave!"

Lyra wanted to ask what the ancient wand maker had meant by that but was distracted as she felt warmth embracing her whole body while being handed another wand.

For some reason the young witch knew that this was the right one.

Mr. Ollivander suddenly had a big smile on his wrinkled face. "Ah - good things can be expected from you, Miss Malfoy. This wand is black walnut wood with a unicorn hair core, twelve inches long and reasonable supple flexibility. It's not the easiest to be mastered, Miss Malfoy, which surely tells us a lot about you." He smirked. "It belongs to someone with good instincts and powerful insight. Although, it does have a quirk - which I am sure you needn't worry about - The wand will lose its power drastically if the possessor should practice any self-deception." The man suddenly went serious again. "Don't be fooled by your environment, young lady. It is not important what is expected of you if it does not feel right."

Confused, Lyra stared at the old man - what the bloody hell did he mean by that?

Unbothered by the sudden confusion of his customer, Mr. Ollivander struck another smile. "That would be seven Galleons, Miss." He slipped behind his desk, leaning onto his forearms as he watched his customer carefully. "Have a good night."

Lyra handed the gray-haired man the money before waving him a hesitant goodbye and leaving the store with her brother - again packed full with things.

"What did that old git mean by saying that, Lyra? Why would he think our expectations wouldn't feel right for you?", Draco asked with a sneer and looked at the narrow store as if it had been packed to the brim with Muggles.

Lyra only sighed and frowned slightly at the lettering above the shop. "I don't know, Draco. … I don't know."

**Author's Note: **Thank you guys for reading through the first chapter with me! It took me really long to write this chapter- mainly because I researched a lot. I want to make this story as close to canon as possible.

Also; I'm going to try and put a meaning behind almost everything I write, so look out for that if you are interested ;)

~ darkdreamlove


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: **I still don't own Harry Potter- which is not that bad because I think no one can write that story better than J. K. Rowling. (not counting Cursed Child, sorry)

* * *

**Introduction, pt.2**

[2]- Hogwarts Express

After another month of sitting in her room (which was way to hot all the time) and reading through all of her school books and basically inhaling any extra information Lyra could get on Hogwarts, it was finally time to gather all of her things and make her way to King's Cross. This time her mother would accompany her along with her brother.

Lyra had been relieved when her mother had told her that her father was busy at the Ministry- that meant she wouldn't have to worry about saying anything wrong. Not that her mother wouldn't acknowledge it- Narcissa was just way more attentive than Lucius.

It was half past ten when the small family arrived at the train station in London. Lyra was walking behind her mother and Draco- they were talking about doing something new in the house while Lyra was gone.

The young girl was thinking about a conversation between her parents she had overheard a few weeks ago. They had talked about the possibility that Lyra might not end up in Slytherin.

While Narcissa had been fairly sure that her daughter would end up in Slytherin- Lucius had talked about how not everyone in the family had been 'so lucky'. He had mentioned someone named Sirius Black- who had ended up in Gryffindor and later was disowned by his own mother- and someone named Nymphadora Tonks- apparently her cousin- who had ended up in Hufflepuff and was actually a half-blood.

That must be Aunt Andromeda's daughter then- was the first thing that Lyra had thought about when she heard the name Tonks.

She knew that her Aunt had been disowned by her family as well after falling in love with a muggle-born but she had never known they had a daughter.

Lyra would never say anything but it actually excited her that she had a cousin. She had also heard her father mentioning that Nymphadora was still in Hogwarts- so there might even be a possibility to meet her.

But what was bothering her right now was that she knew herself that there was a small possibility for her not to end up in Slytherin. She was sure she wouldn't be a Hufflepuff- but just thinking about being disowned for being a Gryffindor made her shiver. Would her family really do something like that? Would her family really give her up for not being in the house she was required to be in?

She knew that in Hogwarts there was some sort of rivalry between the houses- especially between Gryffindor and Slytherin. Maybe she could put these differences aside and actually make some friends in other houses …

Before Lyra could continue her thoughts they arrived at the wall that they would have to run through. Her mother looked expectantly at her- it had been a while since she herself had had to run through the brick wall, but she remembered the weird feeling she had when she did it for the first time. Now it was her oldest child who would have to do the same and although it wasn't really anything special she was still proud of her daughter. She would arrive at Hogwarts and make so many new friends because of her name and it would all be rather easy for her- Narcissa was sure.

"Go on, dear. Nothing's going to happen- just don't panic.", the elder woman smiled reassuringly at Lyra.

Before she could think about it any longer, Lyra started to run- pushing the trolley with her trunk and the cage with Amelyn on top in front of her. She ran through the barrier and arrived on the other side.

Directly in front of her was the Hogwarts Express- big and old, just as she had imagined- it throned next to Platform 9 ¾. There were so many people standing around the train she could barely see anyone's face.

On her way farther down the platform she bumped into a boy with red hair, who immediately started apologising before calling for someone and running away again. Lyra just grinned and shook her head- slowly she started to feel the excitement.

"Well, this is Goodbye then..."

Lyra turned around to see her mother standing right in front of her, arms around Draco- whose smile he had been wearing permanently for the past month, had turned into a sad frown.

Was her little brother actually bummed about not seeing her for the next three and a half months?

"Yeah, well, I'll be back for Christmas break. And I will send you owls whenever I can, I promise.", she assured her family. "Tell Father I will send a letter tomorrow as soon as I have time. I am fairly sure he will want to know which house I got into. Right, Draco?" Lyra smiled at her little brother who gave her a quick hug before standing next to their mother again. "I hope you have fun. And don't forget to send me something!"

"I won't forget, I promise."

"We'll send you an owl every now and then to keep you updated on everything." Narcissa pulled her oldest child into a big hug. She wasn't really ready to let Lyra grow up so soon, but she didn't have a choice. She was sure that her daughter would manage just fine on her own but she also had a feeling that this had been their last summer as a family in which everything had been normal- well, as normal as it could get.

"This will be the best time of you life- don't waste it by thinking about anything your father and I have ever said that might not make any sense to you." Narcissa immediately regretted what she had just said- but she wouldn't ruin the moment and take it back.

For one last time Lyra hugged both her brother and her mother before heaving her trunk into the train and looking for an empty compartment.

If she was to make friends she would have to wait until someone approached her- she just wasn't the type of person to walk up to someone and ask to be friends with them.

It didn't take her to long to find an empty compartment as the train itself still seemed rather empty.

Lyra felt weird- everything around her felt weird. She now was alone, completely on her own- no friends, no family, no one.

It made her feel sad for the first time in weeks. She hadn't been sad about leaving, she hadn't been sad about her father not coming with them to say Goodbye- only now did she realise that it made her sad that she was alone.

There was no little brother she had to take care of. No Narcissa who she had to worry about. Not even her father who she was always so mad about. No. It was just herself and her owl.

The train had already started when Lyra finally decided to do something else than just staring out the window. She rummages through her bag and found a random book she started to read while listening to the soothing sounds of the Hogwarts Express on the railway.

She must have read for some time- the next time she looked out of the window the scenery had changed from suburban London into fields and small villages.

It was quiet in here. The only sound was the rattling of the train, aside from that- nothing. It stayed like that for a while. The scenery had changed into small hills and wide grassland when she heard a loud bang right in front of her compartment. Lyra jumped- there were small, colourful fireworks outside in the hallway.

Suddenly the compartment door was pulled open and Lyra jumped again- the readhead she had run into at King's Cross came in and looked at her for a short moment, before sticking his head out of the door again. "Come on, Georgie! It's almost empty- Percy won't find us here!", the boy called and stepped aside just as another redheaded boy came into the compartment. The first one snapped the door shut before sitting down right across from Lyra.

The young witch was confused. Why were these two boys in here with her? Why not with someone else? And who would name his child 'Percy'?

Now the silence had changed- it wasn't comfortable anymore. No one in the small space really felt like starting a conversation. It felt like hours had passed as one of the twins finally spoke up. (She had come to the conclusion that they were either twins or clones)

"Who _are _you?", he asked in a confused tone and crooked his head. His brother kicked him in the shin and shot him a warning glance- that was not how you introduced yourself to someone who just let you invade their private space without complaint.

The boy who had kicked his brother know turned his head to Lyra and smiled kindly at her. "I apologize for my brother- he isn't very tactful, as you can tell-"

"Says you-"

"Anyway- what he _meant_ to say was that we are sorry for invading your space, but we kinda set off some fireworks in the hallway- nothing _too_ big, don't worry- and our big brother kinda freaked out about it and we had to run."

Now Lyra was completely bewildered. This complete stranger had just apologized for coming into _her _compartment although it wasn't only hers. She hadn't talked to someone so nice and happy since she met Madam Malkin in Diagon Alley.

Politely the girl returned the smile and nodded. Their story about setting of fireworks had sounded really fun and she would have loved to hear more about it- but she only had known these boy for less than five minutes.

After a short pause in the conversation the other twin spoke up. "Sorry, that I was so rude before, but it's a little weird to see a pretty girl like you sit completely on her own in here.", he shrugged.

"Yeah, well, unless she doesn't want us to, we could accompany her. We already got into enough trouble today, Fred. Percy is gonna write to Mum if we don't hold back a little." Both boys looked at her with an expression that implied they wanted to stay but would leave immediately if she said so.

George was feeling a bit uneasy and started playing with his fingers- something about this girl was making him nervous. He hadn't intended to invade her privacy but Fred had called him into this compartment and his brother thought it was alright, so why did it bother him so much?

Lyra didn't know these two boys- she couldn't be sure about what they wanted here. But they were on the Hogwarts Express- no one at the age of eleven or twelve would ever be so nice to her just to later start being rude. So the girl just nodded.

She needed friends and these two boy seemed really fun, although she doubted from their behaviour that they would be in the same house. But didn't she want to have a friendship that went above these house differences in Hogwarts?

Fred's frown turned into a bright grin after Lyra approved them of staying here. Although she hadn't said anything yet he could tell that she was finding them fun to be around- this seemed like a good start.

"Well, let's start over- my name's Fred and this is my brother George.", he cleared his throat and bumped his shoulder against his brothers, who was seemingly nervous.

Lyra's voice was tense as she spoke. "I'm Lyra- Lyra Malfoy."

"Malfoy? As in the daughter of that prat Lucius M-"

"Fred! Don't be so rude.", George shouted. But his brother was right- their family had never gotten along with the Malfoys. Lucius kept making fun of their father at the ministry and constantly talked about how poor their family was. George hated him- but that didn't mean his daughter was just like him. Right?

"You must know that our family never got along with yours-"

"Never got along? George they hate each other! Her father is the reason our father hasn't gotten a promotion in five years! He's an arrogant prick who thinks he's better than anyone else just because he is a pureblood and has tons of money!"

Suddenly Lyra felt the urge to laugh out loud. The boys looked at her as if they'd seen a ghost. Why was she laughing? They had just insulted her father and she was… laughing!?

"Sorry- I- I just found that description of him so accurate- It's awesome to hear that- that he behaves just as horrible at work as he does at home- I'm really sorry-"

The twins looked at each other in surprise. That wasn't what they had been expecting. But instead of just sitting there and staring at the blonde they starting laughing as well. Maybe this wouldn't turn out so bad.

"So, you must be Weasley's then?", Lyra asked with a grin after having calmed down. Both boys nodded at that. "Yeah, well it's not an uncommon thing, is it?", Fred chuckled.

"It's true then? That you have many siblings, I mean?"

"Well, yeah. We have a younger sister and a younger brother, but the other three are older than us- as we said, Percy isn't very fun to be around."

"He's striving to become a prefect in his fifth year- that's why he's so stuck up all the time. What about you? Any siblings? Our Dad mostly talks about what an ass your father is, so we don't know that much about your family."

Lyra chuckled at that again. She found the twins to be really fun to be around, although it was rather surprising to her that they had so many siblings, Their poor mother, she thought.

"I have a little brother- his name is Draco. Comes across like a little devil but he's actually a softie."

The three children continued talking about their families for a while until they heard a clattering outside in the corridor. A small, dimpled woman slid back their door and smiled kindly at them. "Anything off the trolley, loves?", she asked.

Lyra immediately pulled a hand full of money out of her jacket pocket and handed it to the kind lady. "I would like a bit of everything. Except for the Liquorice Wands, please!", she turned around to the twins who both didn't seem to bother with getting any sweets. For a moment she wondered why but than she remembered something her father had once said about the Weasley family. She decided not to dwell on it for long and instead threw all the sweet onto the empty space next to her seat.

"Help yourselves- you don't think I'm planning on eating all of this on my own, do you?", she laughed and threw a Chocolate Frog in Fred's direction. At least she was pretty sure it was Fred- how would she ever know the difference?

While Fred shook his head and opened up his Chocolate Frog with a wide grin, George just stared at the girl in front of him in awe as she handed him a Pumpkin Pasty. He had really not expected her to give them anything free- she had paid for all of that after all.

Lyra seemed to realise that George was staring and felt her cheeks go red. She looked down at the back of her bag with Bertie Bott's Every-Flavoured Beans she had just opened and swallowed. "I think I'm only spending all this money father gave me because, well, _he _gave it to me, you know? Doesn't hurt as much when you know the person who gave it to you doesn't deserve it at all."

Now that Lyra had spoken up, George took his eyes of her and opened up the Pumpkin Pasty in his hand. He found it admirable how Lyra saw her father and talked him down without even flinching. He wondered what Lucius Malfoy could have done to his daughter, for her to dislike him so much.

The trio continued eating through the sweets up until they looked out of the window and saw a major change in scenery had occurred. Lyra swallowed down her Chocolate Cauldron and said, "Maybe we should leave the rest for Hogwarts- my grandmother always said I should buy enough to last for a few weeks- no idea why, but the feast at Hogwarts is supposed to be huge and I feel like we won't be hungry anymore if we continue." Laughing, she looked at Fred who had just eaten an Every-Flavoured Bean and it seemed like it hadn't been a good one.

At that exact moment the compartment door was slid open and a boy with equally as red hair as the twins' looked inside. "There you are. I warned you- Mum will hear about the fireworks, trust me. But that's not why I'm here- we will be arriving at Hogwarts soon, so maybe you three should put on your robes. You will be led to Hogwarts in boats over the Great Lake by the gamekeeper, Hagrid. He will greet you and then you will be lead into the Great Hall and be sorted into your house.- Don't get in trouble, Fred, this is very important and I will not let you ruin this day for any other students or teachers, George." As the boy spoke the twins' names he looked them each in the face (definitely the wrong way around) before turning on his heel and strutting down the corridor.

"Percy.", the twins said at the same time while rolling their eyes.

While the boys were bickering about Percy, Lyra got her robes out of her trunk and made her way to the door of their compartment.

"Where are you going?", Fred asked.

Lyra chuckled. "Sorry to burst your bubble but I'm not going to change in front of you- leave myself some dignity, you know?" She knew that wasn't the only reason she didn't want to change in front of Fred and George, but they didn't have to know that- nobody had to.

With a bright grin and a wink she exited the compartment and made her way down the corridor to find a place where she could change without being watched.

"Never expected to say this about a Malfoy, but I like her. She was nice enough to give us some of her sweets and didn't even ask why we didn't buy any for ourselves. I believe we even ate more than she did. Is that considered rude? And she seemed really interested when we told her about the fireworks we invented. She seems really nice to me, right Georgie?" Fred grinned when he saw his brother still staring at the door Lyra had walked out of a few minutes ago. George either had a thing for the blonde or he just thought about how someone could be so nice to them without that someone even really knowing them.

It was such a George-thing to do- overthinking. Fred just shook his head at his brother and tossed him his robes.

"Let's get ready before she comes back or she'll have to wait outside for us to get changed."

"Hmmm.", was the only thing George let out before standing up and changing into his robes. He shouldn't get his hopes up to high- they were probably not even going to be in the same house. If she would get into Slytherin and they would be put into Gryffindor a friendship wasn't really all that possible. But maybe they could put the house differences aside and stay friends.

After the twins had changed they sat down again and Fred started a staring contest with Lyra's owl Amelyn, who sat comfortably on top of her cage.

After not more than ten seconds Fred gave up and leaned back into his seat. He grabbed the book that Lyra had laid aside as they had entered the compartment.

"_Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them_", he read out loud. "Isn't this the book we were required to buy for Hogwarts?", he asked his brother and held up the book.

"Yeah, I think so. Why?"

"Just wondering. This copy looks really new- not like the ones we got from Bill and Charlie."

"Yeah, well, her father has a lot of money, Fred. She probably got everything new. Also, she doesn't have older siblings, so where would she then get the book from?"

Fred just shrugged. "Dunno. Just curious. You be happy that you got Bill's copy- Charlie has scribbled all over the pages, he even insisted on me giving it back to him in one piece after we don't need it anymore."

"I don't think he'll become an Auror- no matter how hard Mum tries to convince him.", George laughed.

They continued talking about their brothers for a while. Just before the train came to a halt, the compartment door slid open again and Lyra slipped in.

Some weird girls had stopped her on her way back to the compartment and wanted to talk to her. Gladly, they had let her go after she told them if they wouldn't she would tell her father.

As much as she hated taking her fathers reputation as an advantage sometimes it could come in handy.

"I never thought I'd say this, but I'm actually quite nervous.", Fred murmured.

"At least you know which house you're going to get into.", Lyra sighed and gave Amelyn a last treat before letting her into her cage. "I'll be back.", the blonde muttered and closed the small cage door.

As they went out into the corridor they continued their conversation.

Fred squeezed himself through behind some older students as he asked, "And you don't? I mean almost all of your family has been in Slytherin, why wouldn't you be?"

"As you said; _almos__t_."

"Don't you wanna be in Slytherin?", Fred asked again. George kicked his brother in the shin. Fred was really playing dumb right now. It was obvious that Lyra didn't want to continue talking about this topic.

Lyra sighed again before jumping out of the door, that was being held open by George, and onto the hard surface of the train station, "Of course I do. It's just that-"

Before the girl could continue she was interrupted by the deep voice of a giant man standing in front of them. "Firs'-years over here! Come on! Don' be shy! Firs'-years over here!", the man called.

There was a mess when suddenly all the first years were heading in Hagrids direction. Everyone was talking about how excited they were for Hogwarts and which house they were hoping to get into.

Lyra suddenly started feeling really uncomfortable- too many people were talking and it made her head hurt. She swallowed and baled her fists, this was too much but she wouldn't let it get to her. Not on her first day.

Fred, who had been talking to a guy named Lee Jordan, now leaned over to his twin, who was looking concerned at Lyra. "Let's make a deal- whatever house we get in, we will meet tomorrow afternoon."

"Where?", asked George shifting his concerned look towards his brother before grinning widely.

"In front of the Great Hall of course.", said Fred grinning before he turned around to follow Hagrid down the dark path that led them to the Great Lake.

While Fred walked next to the boy he had been talking to earlier, George stayed next to Lyra. He felt her uneasiness and felt like he should comfort her. Instead he tried to get her attention and make her focus on other things.

"You know, my big brother Charlie says there is a Giant Squid living in the lake. He's not supposed to be harmful though. Charlie describes him as _semi-domesticated_."

Lyra cracked a smile at that, "Very reassuring, George, as it is not like we will be travelling by boat over the lake. We might not be lucky and he has a bad day or something and is craving some first-year flesh."

Both of them had to laugh- the possibility to get eaten by a giant squid before they were even sorted into their Hogwarts houses for some reason was pretty funny to them.

As they arrived at the dock Hagrid told them to get into the boats in groups of fours. Lyra shared a boat with the twins and Lee Jordan who seemed to get along with both twins fairly well.

It didn't take long for them to see the huge castle that is Hogwarts right in front of them. Some students gaped in awe and one even expressed her admiration by shrieking.

After getting a short view of Hogwarts the boats were lead into a dark tunnel that seemed to lead them right beneath the castle.

The students and Hagrid arrived at some sort of underground harbour where they climbed onto some rocks.

"All firs'-years here? Good. Follow me.", called Hagrid before he started walking up a flight of dark steps and stopping in front of an enormous wooden door.

George bumped his shoulder into Lyra's before Hagrid nocked on the heavy door three times.

"Ready?", the twin asked, grinning.

Lyra sighed and grinned at him, "When you are."

* * *

**Author's Note:** This chapter felt like it took forever to write and I'm not all that happy with the result, but the judging is completely up to you. I would really appreciate reviews in one form or another. I hope you have a great weekend ;)

I also just want to clarify that this is simply how _I _see the twins and how _I _see Draco Malfoy's sister. I do understand that this story is somewhat of a cliché, but if you think that this story is unoriginal just after two chapters and won't even give it a chance then simply don't read it.

I personally see the twins as pretty accepting people as long as the other person shows them they can trust him/her. I do not think that Molly Weasley raised her sons and daughter to be _that _judgemental of other people. Also, you must note that the main characters in this part of the story are eleven years old- not 18.

About Lyra- I know her talking down her father doesn't make sense to some people but it makes sense to me. Lyra has seen her parents do bad things, she has heard them talking about horrible things and she simply hates how her father thinks he's better than anyone else. As I'm going to talk about that later in the story I'll let it be for now.

Thank you for your time :*

Love, Lisa


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: **I don't own any of this except for the characters of Lyra and a few of her friends- the rest was all the genius mind of J.K. Rowling.

Thank you so much for reading!

* * *

**Introduction, pt.3**

[3]- The Sorting Hat

**September 1st, 1989**

As the students entered through the door behind Hagrid everyone was amazed at the sheer sight of the Entrance Hall. The young witches and wizards looked around in awe before all stopping right behind Hagrid.

In front of them stood a tall witch in emerald-green robes with a very stern look on her face. Her black hair was pulled back in a bun and her glasses were sitting on the tip of her nose.

Lyra heard Fred and George next to her chuckle and shook her head smiling.

Hagrid spoke up, "The firs'-years, Professor McGonnagall."

"Thank you, Hagrid. Students follow me."

The Professor led the students through the Entrance Hall and into a small chamber off the hall.

Lyra was impressed by everything she had seen so far. It all seemed magical and mysterious and it made her want to find out every small detail of the ancient castle.

Professor McGonnagall cleared her throat to get the attention of the many students who were talking very loudly. The muttering immediately stopped which was probably a sign that McGonnagall had all the respect from the students.

To be honest she doesn't really look like someone you would want to mess with, thought Lyra.

"Welcome to Hogwarts," spoke Professor McGonnagall. "The start-of-term banquet will commence in a few minutes, but before you can join the feast, you will be sorted into you houses. While you are here your house will be considered a family to you within Hogwarts. Your classes will be with the rest of you house, you will sleep in your house dormitories and have free time to spend in your houses common rooms.

The four houses are called Gryffindor, Slytherin, Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff. You will learn that each house has it's own history and has produced many outstanding witches and wizards. Your triumphs here at Hogwarts will earn you house points whereas any rule breaking or failures will loose you points. At the end of the term the house with most points earned will win the house cup, a great honour.

The Sorting Ceremony will be held in the Great Hall in just a few minutes. I suggest you all get prepared. I shall return when we are ready for you. Please wait here quietly."

As the Professor finished her speech and exited the room the muttering started again. Lyra had calmed down from her small anxiety attack and now looked around the room.

"Do you know how we get sorted?" Lee Jordan asked and looked at Lyra and the twins. All three just shrugged.

Fred chuckled, "You would think we'd know, but we don't. Every time we ask Mum changes the subject and Bill and Charlie just ignore us."

"I suppose it's something that doesn't take up to much time- it's pretty late already and they need to show us to our common rooms and want to have a feast.", George said.

Just then Professor McGonnagall came back into the room. "Follow me- the ceremony is about to start." she said in a sharp voice and led the first years back across the hall and through a pair of double doors into the Great Hall.

Lyra was astonished. Her eyes fell on the long table at the other end of the hall which was studded with teachers. There were thousands of candles floating in mid-air above the four long tables that represented each house. It was outstandingly magical even for Lyra who had grown up with magic.

Professor McGonnagall led the students right in front of the teachers where they stood in a line facing all the other students in the room.

Just then did Lyra see the ceiling which didn't really look like one at all- it was enchanted to make it seem like the sky outside. Right now it was dark blue sprinkled with stars.

The Professor then pulled the attention of the students back to her when she placed a four-legged stool in front of them. A pointed wizard's hat was put on top of it.

Lyra looked over at the twins, who were standing next to her and saw that they had just as puzzled looks on their faces as she did.

Suddenly there was a noise in the room and the young witch looked back at the hat who now had a rip near the brim which looked awfully similar to a mouth. Then the hat abruptly started to sing:

'_Oh, you may not think I'm pretty,  
But don't judge on what you see,  
I'll eat myself if you can find  
A smarter hat than me._

_You can keep your bowlers black,  
Your tops hats sleek and tall,  
For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat  
And I can cap them all._

_There's nothing hidden in your head  
The Sorting Hat can't see,  
So try me on and I will tell you  
Where you ought to be._

_You might belong in Gryffindor,  
Where dwell brave of heart,  
Their daring, nerve, and chivalry  
Set Gryffindors apart;_

_You might belong in Hufflepuff,  
Where they are just and loyal,  
Those patient Hufflepuffs are true  
And unafraid of toil;_

_Or yet wise old Ravenclaw,  
If you've a ready mind,  
Where those of wit and learning,  
Will always find their kind;_

_Or perhaps in Slytherin  
You'll make your real friends,  
Those cunning folk use any means  
To achieve their ends._

_So put me on! Don't be afraid!  
And you won't get in a flap!  
You're safe in my hands(though I have none)  
For I'm a Thinking Cap!'_

There was a big round of applause from all the students and teachers and the hat bowed to each of the four tables before settling still again. Then Professor McGonnagall returned with a piece of rolled up parchment in her hand.

"When I call your name I want you to each step forward, sit on this stool and put on the hat." the Professor spoke with a stern voice and looked at all the first years before shifting to the roll of parchment. "Avery, Rick"

A raven-haired boy with a fazed look on his face sat on the stool as McGonnagall placed the hat on his head. A few silent moments passed before the hat shouted, "RAVENCLAW!"

The table second to the left cheered and several students got up to greet Rick.

"Davies, Roger" was next and was put in Ravenclaw as well.

When McGonnagall called up "Diggory, Cedric", a few girls next to Lyra started giggling- Cedric was put in Hufflepuff.

Fawley, Alec was the first to be put in Slytherin and Johnson, Angelina was the first Gryffindor. Next was Lee Jordan who sat on the stool for solid three minutes before being put in Gryffindor as well.

They were nearing the letter M and Lyra was growing more nervous each time someone new got sorted.

"Malfoy, Lyra"

She took one last glimpse at the twins who didn't seem to be nervous at all and both shot her a reassuring grin. The girl drew in a short breath before sitting down on the stool. The hat had barely touched her head before sliding over her eyes.

"_Ah! Interesting…", said the hat's voice in her ear. She shuddered."I see great intelligence and hard work lies within you- __fear to be overshadowed and, yes, I see ambition. I shall put you into SLYTHERIN then!"_

Lyra felt relieved as soon as the hat left her head. Had the hat known that she wanted to be in Slytherin and had just put her there because of that? She didn't want to worry about that. She sat down at the table second to the right and was greeted by a few kind looking students. A girl, Katherine Grey, that had been sorted into Slytherin before her even gave her hug.

Professor McGonnagall went on with the list. Lyra caught a few names after her- "Spinnet, Alicia" who was put into Gryffindor, "Stimpson, Patricia" who got into Hufflepuff and a few others that came to sit next to her and Katherine.

Only three students were left standing behind the stool. One of them, Cassius Warrington, was put into Slytherin. Then the Weasley twins were the last ones to be sorted.

There were a few spiteful chuckles behind her that made Lyra roll her eyes as Professor McGonnagall called up "Weasley, Fred". The hat didn't stay on his hat for too long before it exclaimed "GRYFFINDOR!" and the table to the left then cheered loudly. When it was George's turn the hat barely touched his hair before putting him into Gryffindor as well.

Lyra turned took a glimpse at the Gryffindor table and saw that a rather broad red headed prefect shook George's hand- that must be their brother Charlie then.

While Professor McGonnagall was rolling up her parchment and putting the hat and the stool away, Lyra looked along the Hufflepuff table to see if there was a girl that looked like someone who was called _Nymphadora. _She only saw a girl with bright yellow hair who looked at her with a confused look, but she doubted that was her cousin. She still had time to look for her later so for now the blonde turned her attention back to Katherine who had started a conversation with Alec Fawley, the son of an old family ally.

"I'm okay with being in Slytherin I think. As long as everyone treats me alright.", Katherine said.

Alec just leaned back and wrinkled his forehead, "I mean you're not a Muggle-born so I don't think there will be trouble. Hey Lyra, what-" The young wizard didn't get to finish his sentence as suddenly everything went quiet.

The headmaster of the school, Albus Dumbledore, had gotten up from his thorne and smiled warmly at the crowd in front of him. "Welcome!", he started. "Welcome first-years and welcome back all the other students. As I see the hunger in all of your faces I do not care to bore you with a long speech. Thank you and enjoy the food!"

He shortly raised both his hands before the dishes filled with food. The loud chattering started again and Lyra shook her head in awe- she had never seen so much food in her life. She smiled and filled her plate with the most delicious food she had ever seen.

The houselves at Malfoy Manor cooked like five-star cooks but this food was even better. It was warm and fresh and their was something for everyone. If every meal at Hogwarts looked like this Lyra would roll her way down to the train station at the end of the term.

While stuffing her mouth with potatoes she remembered that Alec had wanted to ask her something before. She quickly swallowed her food and turned to look at the brown-haired boy. "What was your question before again?"

Alec gave her look that told her that he was thinking before he nodded, "I just wanted to know what your reaction would have been if a Muggle-born would have sat at the table with us?"

"Um … I don't know. I guess it would have been weird and I definitely would have questioned the hat's decision- but I guess I would have gotten used to it. Why?"

"Well, Kitty-Kat over here said that she would have loved for a Muggle-born to be sitting here with us.", Alec muffled with his mouth filled with food.

Katherine just looked at him- unimpressed. "My father may be a wizard but he is also a Muggle-born and he is a really good wizard. He works for the ministry in the _Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes _and if that doesn't make him a qualified ´wizard I don't know hat does."

Lyra could see that Alec wanted to give a witty response but that moment an auburn-haired girl with a prefect badge turned to them.

"My name is Gemma Farley- I'm one of your prefects this year. So if you have any questions just ask.", the girl spoke with a confident smirk. She sat next to another first-year, Adrian Pucey, who didn't look all that comfortable.

There was a drop in temperature as the ghosts of Hogwarts came into the Great Hall. Everyone looked up from their food as the house ghosts took place at their tables which made students feel cold and uncomfortable.

The Bloody Baron, the house ghost of Slytherin sat down next to Cassius Warrington. He looked rather miserable and creepy- the blood stains on his robes and the chains around his translucent body didn't make him look any more nice.

Lyra shuddered as she felt the house ghost of Ravenclaw, the Grey Lady, float right behind her. It was not something she had expected so soon but it was fairly interesting to ghosts interact with wizards and witches.

"You'd think we'd have potions with Snape considering he's the _only_ teacher at this school that can do stuff like that.", Alec spoke as he rolled his eyes at something Katherine had said before continuing to eat like an animal.

Katherine looked like she was going to loose her temper at the boy in front of her any minute. "How am I supposed to know? Professor Snape wasn't friends with _my_ parents. And he never will be." She crossed her arms and leaned back in her seat.

Lyra had to chuckle. It was barely the first night and the two Slytherins were already bickering like an old married couple. They were only eleven at that.

"Bloody hell, Kitty-Kat! He's not _that _bad! He might look like a creepy old dude but he's known to be _very _generous when it comes to giving Slytherin house points and I hear that he loves to take points from other houses for no reason at all.", Alec smirked.

Katherine frowned, "I really don't see-" The young witch was interrupted by Dumbledore who had gotten up from his seat again.

"Ahem- now that we are all fully satisfied I have a few start-of-term notices to give to you.", he spoke after the hall had fallen silent once again.

"All students should be reminded that the forest on the grounds is forbidden for all pupils.

'The caretaker Mr. Filch also reminded me to tell you that magic is not allowed to use in between classes in the corridors.

'Quidditch trials will be held in the second week of the term as always. Madam Hooch will be responsible for everyone who wants to try out for their house teams.

'And at last- before we all head to our dormitories, let us sing the school song."

The headmaster gave his wand a flick and a golden ribbon flew out of it, which rose above the tables and formed itself into words.

"Everyone decide for their favourite tune- and off we go."

_Hogwarts, Hogwarts, Hoggy Warty Hogwarts,  
Teach us something please,  
Whether we be old and bald,  
Or young with scabby knees,  
Our heads could do with filling,  
With some interesting stuff,  
For now they're bare and full of air,  
Dead flies and bits of fluff,  
So teach us things worth knowing,  
Bring back what we've forgot,  
Just do your best, we'll do the rest,  
And learn until our brains all rot._

There was not one person in the room that finished the song at the same time as another. It sounded like someone had let a herd of werewolves loose on the school. It definitely didn't sound like singing.

Lyra heard Alec next to her swear "Bloody Hell!" over and over again before everyone was finished. The blonde laughed at her fellow Slytherin who looked like he would be throwing up at any moment. If for the enormous amounts of food or the horrible sound of everyone 'singing' the school song would only be known to Alec himself.

Dumbledore's kind eyes looked around the hall after everyone had finished and gave an approving nod, "Very well. Never heard it any better. Now off to you dormitories you go! First- years will follow their respective prefects to the dorms! Have a good night!"

Students immediately started getting up and created a big chaos, which didn't seem to disturb any of the teachers or students whatsoever.

Lyra got a quick glimpse of Fred and George exiting the hall with their fellow Gryffindors behind their brother. It made her slightly sad that they wouldn't be seeing each other all that often but then she remembered that they had agreed on meeting in the Great Hall tomorrow afternoon.

Katherine was walking next to her as they followed Gemma through Hogwarts. They saw talking portraits, ghost flying by and even a cat walking around freely. More that once Gemma had to stop dead in her tracks because her first-years had found something extraordinary.

"First-years! Come on now we don't have all the time in the world! You'll have enough time in the following months to wander around the castle!", groaned Gemma.

The students continued through Hogwarts and while Lyra saw the Gryffindors and Ravenclaws make their way up the enchanted staircases, Hufflepuff and Slytherin went down.

Lyra had heard from her parents that the Slytherin common room was in the dungeons and one had a great look out into the lake.

They parted ways with the Hufflepuffs before they reached the dungeons.

"As you can see are know in the dungeons.", explained Gemma exasperated. "I will now lead you to the Slytherin common room. Here is also your Potions classroom- pretty easy to find. Potions is being taught by Professor Snape- he is also our head of house. Now come on, follow me!"

They walked a little bit further into the dungeons before stopping in front of a wall.

"Behind this wall is a short corridor that leads to the common room of Slytherin. You will need the password to enter- it is always written on the board that is hung up on a wall in the room. If you ever forget the password or forget to look either turn to one of you housemates or simply wait until another Slytherin arrives and enter with them." Gemma explained before turning to the wall and saying, "Sacer sanguis."

The wall started to open at that. Gemma led them indeed through a short corridor before she opened an old heavy door.

The Slytherin common room was huge, dark and cold. There were huge windows that granted look into the depth of the great Lake. A fireplace was right across the room and there were many comfortable looking leather couches and chairs standing around the room.

Ancient artefacts such as skulls or weirdly shaped jewels were displayed on top of cupboards and tables.

The left wall of the room that was situated behind two pretentious staircases was basically a huge bookshelf stacked with ancient looking books.

The stairs were made completely out of glass which had an emerald glow to them. The room in general was lit in a rather dark emerald lighting- it gave the room a mysterious feeling.

Gemma stood in the middle of the room and turned the attention of the first-years back to her with a very loud single clap.

"So, this is were you will spent most of you time. This room can be used to study-", she pointed to a huge round table to the right "- to celebrate or to just simply have conversations with your housemates.

'A few quick notices- if there ever is something swimming by the window or looking inside from the lake don't be scared, the creatures are just curious. Just- don't piss any of them off.

'It is also good to know that even though the other hoses allow students from every house into their common rooms when accompanied by a student of the house we don't allow that here. The Slytherin common room is only accessible by Slytherins themselves, teachers and the headmaster himself." She paused to see if everyone was still listening.

"There is a second entrance to the common room. It is near the Entrance Hall and will be shown to you by your other prefect, Terrence Higgs.

'As for you schedules- they will be handed out to every student tomorrow after breakfast in the Great Hall. Some classes will be taught in cooperation with the other houses.

'Any questions?", the prefect asked. She was looking expectantly at the crowd in front of her. When there were none she clapped loudly again.

"Well then- if you come up with any further questions, everyone who wears a prefect badge like mine-", she presented her badge proudly. "- can be asked, even those from other houses. We also have a Head Girl and Boy which can also be identified by badges. Otherwise there are always the teachers."

With a fake smile and a wave she led the first-years to the staircases. "The dormitories for the girls are on the left- for the boys on the right. Your belongings have already been brought up. Have a good night and don't forget to be at breakfast tomorrow morning."

A short chaos commenced as boys and girls wanted to get to their respective side right away. There were murmurs that were heard from further away- probably the other students.

Lyra was the last girl to arrive at the dormitories for the first-years. She shared the room with three other girls, who had already started talking to one another and Katherine.

The blonde went to her bed which was right next to Katherine's. She sat down and smiled at the brunette. "You like it here?"

The dorm had a similar look to it as the common room but it was a lot warmer. The four-poster beds were big and had side-tables on one side and a small drawer, which was enchanted with an expansion charm, on the other side. The duvet was emerald-green and the cushion was a silvery-white.

"It is a bit dark but aside from that I really enjoy it. Although the sea-creatures thing kinda creeps me out." Both girls laughed.

"Are you two going to sleep?", one of the girls asked them with a polite smile. "Name's Ophelia. Ophelia Cruore."

The other two introduced themselves as Harley and Josephine. The five girls quickly got into conversation about Hogwarts and how everything was so mysterious. Harley and Ophelia even asked question about Lyra's father, which was admittedly a bit strange but they quickly got.

Lyra sort of distanced herself from the conversation after a while as she was very tired from the tiring day. As she closed her eyes she thought once again about how happy she was to finally be at Hogwarts before falling into an amazing nights sleep.

* * *

**Author's Note: **Hey guys! Hitting you with a new chapter. I really like how some of this turned out but it's all up to you know :)

I'm not really sure if I got everything about the Slytherin common room and dormitories right- if it's not just see it as my interpretation, haha

Please review if you liked it and I hope you are enjoying this

Love, Lisa


	4. Chapter 4

**Introduction, pt.4**

[4]- First Day at Hogwarts

**Author's Note: **Do have to keep saying that Harry Potter is completely J. K. Rowling's work and that I am just fiddling with my own story here..?

* * *

**September 2nd, 1989**

„God, Alec! It's not as if we have to spend every minute of every day with them! And like you said- Snape prefers Slytherins and that might make double potions fun."; Katherine said, rolling her eyes.

The trio was sitting at the Slytherin table in the Great Hall for breakfast. The heads of houses had previously handed out the timetables to their students. Many of the Slytherin first-years had groaned when they had first seen the sheets- they had more lessons with Gryffindor than any other house and that seemingly bothered most of them.

Lyra personally couldn't care less. She didn't mind having so many lessons with the house- it meant that she would get to spend more time with Fred and George.

She was also bloody tired. She could barely concentrate on the delicious looking food presenting itself on the plates in front of her, her eyes just kept falling shut.

The young witch hadn't slept all that well in her new bed. It wasn't that she had felt homesick, although she _did _miss her little brother already. It was more the fact of getting used to sleep in a new environment that was so different from home.

Never in her life had she shared a room with someone else before, except for her brother. It was unusual but not horrible. Lyra would get used to it at some point, he was sure of it, it might just take some time.

Lyra was taken out of her thoughts when Kate started snapping her fingers in front of her face. "Hey! You don't want to eat?"

The blonde was a little bit taken aback. She tucked a loose strand of her behind her hear before answering, "I'm not all that hungry."

"Didn't sleep well, huh? Me neither." Alec commented.

"You are going to get used to it, don't worry. But Lyra, I would really recommend you eat something- we're not going to have time to grab a snack until lunch time."

"Aside from that- these sausages are bloody delicious! Not even our house-elf could cook this good."

Kates eyes went wide. "You have a house-elf? That's so cool!"

Alec chuckled. "Yeah, almost every pureblood family has one. There are some that think it's barbaric, but I think it's just what they do."

"Do you have one too?" Kate asked. She had heard some things about houselves but her parents would never allow one in their home.

"Yeah, his name's Dobby. He's good although he's a bit too rebellious sometimes." Lyra murmured, rubbing her temple. She really hoped that tonight she would get a better sleep- this was torture. The loud noise this morning didn't help either.

She looked over to the Gryffindor table, her eyes looking for two redheads. She spotted Charlie but didn't find the twins until her eyes rested on a crowd at the near end of the table.

The crowd were a bunch of first-years that seemed to be really interested in something Fred and George were showing them.

Lyra would've really liked to go over to them and take a look but she still had the meeting in the afternoon to look forward to.

"… Lyra? Are you coming?"

Alec and Kate had gotten up and were waiting for Lyra to follow them.

"We want to get our books and head to the greenhouses."

Alec laughed as Lyra struggled to get out of her seat before all three of them left the Great Hall.

George just spotted Lyra's blonde head leaving the hall before having his attention turned back to the table. Yesterday night in the common room, the twins had let loose a range of small, self-made fireworks which had apparently made them popular over night.

Their older brother Percy had only acknowledged their behaviour with a disapproving glance, whereas Charlie had found it rather entertaining until calling them off before they'd blow everything up.

A lot of older students had asked them about how they did it and many first-years were know constantly at their heel.

They had already found some friends they really appreciated without knowing them al that well. Two girls in their year, Angelina and Alicia, had held up a conversation about Quidditch the whole rest of the night and Lee Jordan had told them about the many creatures his family had at home which had many of the students constantly hanging at his lips.

Lee had actually asked if he could help the twins improve their inventions and they had gladly excepted. They had talked about pranks and fun inventions the twins had thought of all night- much to the dismay of their housemates.

The twins had gotten another purchase of theirs- a dungbomb- out of Fred's trunk this morning and were now showing it to a few interested Gryffindors.

While his brother explained how the bomb worked George actually took a look at their timetables. He wasn't really looking forward to potions, as their brother Bill had warned them about Professor Snape not being very fun to be around.

_It's not going to be that bad, _thought George and threw a glance towards the door again. Maybe Lyra had already changed her mind and wouldn't want to hang out with him and Fred any more. He couldn't really blame her- her family was one of the best known and wealthy pureblood families in the wizarding world. Whereas the Weasley family might've been known but not for their wealth- more for the disgrace they brought upon pureblood families with sympathizing with muggles.

George sighed. If she decided to do what her family expected from her after all he would know today after _History of Magic _with the Ravenclaws.

"Ey Freddie! Let's get our things- we don't wanna be late on our first day, do we?!", George exclaimed and got up from his seat.

The twins made their way out of the hall with Lee Jordan. Waving shortly at Charlie, they started discussing a prank they were going to pull tonight.

_This is going to be awesome_, Fred thought with a grin and followed George and Lee up the stairs to the Gryffindor common room.

* * *

"If I'd known that Herbology was this boring, I'd have stayed in bed.", groaned Kate supporting her heavy feeling head on her arm.

Lyra chuckled at her before looking back at their small Herbology Professor, Pomona Sprout. Lyra had realised she was also the head of Hufflepuff house, which explained the positive smile that was resting constantly on her face.

Her mother had told her that in their first year they would only be taught theory, the practical care of magical plants and fungi would come later in their second year.

And although she could understand Kates boredom she found it far more interesting to look at Alec who was practically hypnotized by what Professor Sprout was explaining.

She leaned into Kates direction without taking her eyes of Alec and whispered "Just look at him. He doesn't even realise he's starting to drool."

The two girls started to giggle which caught the attention of Alec and soon after that also from the Professor.

"Do you two mind enlightening us on what is so fun to discuss in my lesson?"

"Sorry, Professor. It is really not important.", said Kate, trying to cover her wide grin.

"Good, then you can discuss later after the lesson." Professor Sprout shook her head slightly before turning back to the subject of the Devil's Snare she was discussing prior to the interruption.

Lyra wondered why she hadn't taken any points from the two girls, but then again, it was their first lesson so maybe the Professor would let it slide just this once.

After Herbology they went to Charms class, which was way more interesting than their lesson before. Professor Flitwick, who was way smaller than Professor Sprout and was standing on a tower of books for support, explained to them the important art of charm-casting and how they would be crucial to their career as witches and wizards.

The only thing that bothered Lyra was that there was a particular group of three Ravenclaw girls who kept looking over at her and her friends and were whispering constantly. She tried her best to ignore them and kept looking at Professor Flitwick to focus but Alec and Kate weren't helping the case. The two kept talking about the three girls on the other side of the room.

"Hey! You three keep your eyes off! Seriously- and you're supposed to be smart."

"Alec!"

"Mr. Fawley! I suppose you have a good reason to interrupt my class like this?", Professor Flitwick spoke in his squeaky voice. He didn't seem too threatening but Alec had just insulted students from his own house.

Alec leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms. "Well, Professor, why don't you ask _your _students. After all, they have been talking this whole time haven't they!?"

"As far as I recall it, Mr. Fawley, you were having a fairly interesting conversation with Miss Grey as well. I will not take any points from you or Miss Smith and her friends today, but bare in mind that I will not be as forgiving next time. Let's move on, shall we? Now, who can tell me what the Wand-Lighting Charm does? … Yes, Miss Malfoy?"

Alec scuffed in defeat. This was the second time today a teacher had been nice enough not to make them loose points, but it was _really _annoying that those gossip girls on the other side wouldn't stop looking at them. Maybe he could hex them after the lesson? But then again- he didn't want to loose points on his first day, so he let it be.

Lyra cleared her throat before speaking, "The Wand-Lighting charm, spoken as _Lumos, _is a charm that illuminates the tip of the caster's wand, allowing the caster to see in the dark."

"Yes! Bravo, Miss Malfoy, five points to Slytherin!" Professor Flitwick squealed in delight."As though it is a fairly simple charm, it does require concentration. Be careful not to light you wand on fire, as it will be permanently damaged. Now, I want you all to get out your books and seek out a bit of important information about the Wand-Lighting charm"

Lyra heard Kate grunt in annoyance as she pulled her textbook out of her bag. Her friend didn't seem to enjoy the day as much as she had expected apparently.

As if she'd read Lyra's mind, Kate sighed while opening her book and whispered, "It's really not that I don't find this totally awesome, it's just that it is so much theory. I don't want to learn about the charms, I want to cast them!"

"Yes, but in order to be able to cast them we have to learn about them first.", Lyra mumbled.

"The lesson will be over any minute now any way, so don't bother." Alec shrugged.

At that exact moment the bell rang and students started to pack their books back into their bags.

Professor Flitwick, who seemed like he had forgotten about the bell, was trying to maintain his balance on the stack of books while shouting, "Oh! Don't forget to have finished your assignment until next lesson!" Some students got a small notebook out of their books to scribble the homework in and Lyra intended to do the same but before she could, she was pulled out of the classroom by Kate and Alec.

The two started laughing the moment they exited the classroom and started making their way to the dungeons.

"That could've gone so wrong! We almost lost points twice today and we aren't even finished with the first day yet!", Kate laughed. She was really excited. Apparently she thought Flitwick almost falling down a stack of books fairly hilarious.

"I don't really see how that is something to be happy about?", Lyra sighed.

"Well, it makes this whole day much more exciting than it was."

"I do agree with Kitty Kat over here, Lyra! Get that stick out of your ass and laugh a little!"

"Thank you, Alec, but I think I'll let it stick." She rolled her eyes. "I just think it is unnecessary to draw so much attention to ourselves on our first day."

Alec jumped down the last staircase that led down to the dungeons and then proceeded going backwards. "Um, as far as I believe _you _were the one almost loosing us points in Herbology!"

"To be fair, Alec- it was bloody hilarious the way you were looking at Sprout!"

"Yeah, you were just starting to drool as she called us out." The girls giggled at that and Alec rolled his eyes. They stopped in front of the wall that led to their common room.

"I just find Herbology to be a very interesting subject.- Does anyone know the password?"

Kate, still laughing, answered, "Amortentia" and the wall opened to lead them through a small corridor into their common room.

"See you in five minutes down here again!", shouted Alec before running off to the boys' dormitory.

"Don't forget your books!" Kate called after him before linking arms with Lyra and leading her up the staircase to their common room, still giggling.

* * *

After their last lesson Lyra parted from her friends and made her way to the Great Hall. She had been looking forward to meeting up with the twins the whole day. She was curious about the thing they had presented their housemates this morning, as she had heard rumours about two first-years that had entertained the whole Gryffindor common room yesterday evening. The blonde was pretty sure those two first-years had been Fred and George, as they had entered the compartment on the train yesterday _because_ of fireworks.

But before she could even take a look around the corner into the Great Hall she was forcefully pulled into a small broom closet a pair of hands.

"What the-! How dare you! What is your problem, you-" Lyra swore before looking into a pair of fairly familiar brown eyes. "Fred?" She wondered while looking around to see where the other half of the boy in front of her was.

"Actually it's George, you'll get used to it. Fred's in the Great Hall waiting for you if I hadn't caught you at the right time."

"No, it's not."

The twin looked at the girl questioningly, "Pardon me?"

"You're not George."

"Wha- How do you know?" Fred asked surprised.

Lyra just shrugged, "Don't know, I just have a feeling… and your voice is a bit deeper."

Fred chuckled at that. Not even their Mum could tell them apart and this girl they just met yesterday knew because she 'had a feeling'.

The door opened and George came in. "Hey." He smiled at Lyra before he turned his head to his still surprised looking brother. "What?", he asked.

"Lyra can tell us apart." Fred chuckled and shook his head slightly in amusement.

George's eyes went wide for a quick moment.

"No way!"

"Yeah."

"Finally." laughed George and sat down on one of the boxes that stood all around the small room. He was genuinely surprised. The only people who could tell them apart were their father and Bill, their oldest brother.

As Fred leaned against the wall and crossed his arms, he looked at George with a knowing glint in his eyes before he continued the conversation. "So, how's your first day?"

Lyra shrugged, "It's school, isn't it? But I really liked Transfiguration and Charms, although I can't say the other subjects were boring. Alec, Kate and I almost lost Slytherin a few points because we couldn't keep our mouths shut." She chuckled.

When she saw the confused look on the twins faces she remembered that they didn't know who Alec and Kate were and honestly she hadn't thought about the fact yet, that her friends might not get along. It wasn't unusual that Gryffindors and Slytherins butted heads in the heat of the moment and knowing Alec, his short temper wouldn't be helping at all. But then, could she do anything else than try to communicate between them? She'd have to sit and wait.

"They're friends of mine, both in Slytherin. We kind of 'bonded' over the feast yesterday." The blonde chuckled again and subconsciously tugged a loose piece of her hair behind her right ear.

"Isn't this Alec part of the Fawley family?" Fred asked.

"Well, yeah, but I mean not everyone who comes from a pureblood family is bad or bound to have been a Death Eater."

"Maybe." Fred's voice showed a clear tone of criticism, which Lyra ignored- she wasn't going to get into an argument with the two boys she had just met yesterday.

Instead she tried to change the subject to something more fun. "What was that thing you were showing off at the Gryffindor table this morning?" She grinned.

It seemed like the mood had just shifted from an uncomfortable tension between her and Fred to a mischievous aura between the two brother that know expanded onto Lyra.

"It's really cool!" George started with a wide grin.

"Yeah; an advanced and maybe even improved dungbomb from a joke shop we visited in Diagon Ally!"

"We worked pretty hard on it all summer-"

"- the dungbombs and our customized fireworks-"

"- had a few arguments with Mum about bringing the things to Hogwarts."

"Couldn't convince her, but Charlie helped us hide a few things in his trunk."

"Because, of course, Mum wouldn't suspect _him_."

"Her perfect, little Charlie."

The boys laughed. The two Weasleys had all sorts of happiness radiating from them as they talked about their beloved hobby. It made them much more appealing and suddenly Lyra understood why they had grown popular practically over night.

The way they talked, full of confidence and conviction, and how they presented themselves, open and friendly, could convince anyone to join them with their inventions.

The trio stayed in the broom-closet for a while, talking about their adventures, getting to know each other.

Fred and George told Lyra about the time Fred had transfigured their younger brother's teddy-bear into a spider because he had broken the older boy's broomstick and about the time he had burned a hole in their brother's tongue with an Acid Pop.

It all sounded so fun that Lyra almost got jealous. They had talked about their families yesterday on the train, but Lyra still found it rather intriguing to hear about so many fun things she had never gotten to experience.

Her expression grew rather sad over the thought and the twins noticed that.

George smiled lightly at her with a concerned glint in his eyes. "You okay?"

Lyra was taken a little bit aback by the question. "Oh, yeah! Just tired."

Fred wanted to ask further but George kept him from it by jumping up and suggesting to meet up tomorrow before their Defence Against the Dark Arts class.

"We could meet here again right after breakfast, then we can walk there together." He clapped his hands as Fred and Lyra nodded, a bit surprised by his sudden energy.

They exited the room right as the first people entered the Great Hall for dinner.

"We could show your our inventions on Wednesday after Potions if you'd like?" George suggested, still smiling.

"Yeah, maybe. We'll see- I heard Alec and Kate talking about possibly exploring the castle as bit more in the next few days and I'm sure they would want me to go with them. I don't think they'll stay off each others necks for long if I'm not there."

The three first-years made their way up the short staircase. "See you tomorrow!" Fred shouted after the young Malfoy, as she made her way down the stairs to the dungeons, grinning like she had just been accepted to Hogwarts again. This was going to be so much fun!

* * *

**Author's Note: **Thank you so much for reading! If you'd like to review, please feel free to do so.

I just wanted to say that I'm going to be working with time jumps in the story from now on. I think most people would find it rather boring to read every day of Lyra's life, so I decided to only highlight the important parts.

I have also planned so much for her in the later films/ books and I don't want this story to be too long.

Love,

Lisa


	5. Chapter 5

**Introduction, pt. 5**

[5]- A very happy birthday

**Authors Note: **Nothing's changed … Don't own anything, except for Lyra.

Also- there is more than one date in this chapter as I don't have that much to write for each day.

I thought I'd also mention what I mainly use as my sources:

wiki/Main_Page

.com

and of course the books/films

* * *

**September 3rd, 1989**

The next morning was just as exciting as the first, as the first owl post of the year arrived. A few hundred owls came flying into the Great Hall, all carrying packages or letters in their beaks or around their claws.

Lyra spotted Amelyn flying directly in her direction and then landing gracefully on her shoulder. Smiling, the young Malfoy gave her Tawny Owl a treat for her well done job. She loosened the small package from her owl's claw and gave her another small treat.

"Well done, Amelyn.", she smiled and stroke her pet's feathers. "I'll come by later." At that the owl hopped off her shoulder and flew out of the Great Hall again.

Lyra turned her attention back to the package in her head. She had a suspicion that it contained a few treats from home. Draco had once told her that she should always open her packages very carefully just in case it contained something dangerous. They both had laughed at that, but Lyra had seen the glance her parents had thrown at each other. It didn't concern her at the time, but know she would probably think twice.

The thought of her brother made her little homesick- she actually missed the annoying prat. Although Alec reminded her a little bit of Draco, he sometimes was a little more endurable than her brother.

Thinking of the devil, at that exact moment Alec entered the Great Hall. Yawning he sat down right next to the young girl and poured himself some milk in a bowl and added cereal. Without a word he started eating and looked grimly at the black owl in front of him.

"Good Morning?" Kate asked, looking up from the newest edition of the _Daily Prophet_ she had taken from Lyra's package.

Alec just nodded at her and continued eating.

Sighing, Kate took an owl treat from Lyra and gave it to the black owl before removing the letter from it's beak and tossing it right next to Alec's breakfast bowl. The brunette gave the owl another treat before releasing her and letting her fly out of the hall.

Kate just scuffed, leaned back in her seat and continued reading the newspaper.

Lyra watched the whole act with a look of utter confusion on her face. It really looked like they had done this a thousand times, even if it was their first time receiving post by owls.

Alec looked like he hadn't slept at all last night and Kate glared at him every ten seconds as if she wanted to kill him.

The blonde thought to herself that she would wait and observe for a while before asking the two why they suddenly seemed like they had woken up on the wrong side of the bed this morning.

Lyra just shook her head and turned back to the letter her parents had sent her. She opened it and read:

_Dear Lyra,_

_We are so proud that you got into Slytherin! We believe you already met people you will spend your time with? Send us a letter when you find the time._

_Although he won't admit to it Draco misses you badly. He's been spending some time with the children of associates of your father._

The Malfoy gulped at that. Draco had always been different from the others. He had always been more attentive and even more mature than any of the other pureblood children they knew and Lyra was insanely proud of that. But she feared that the behaviour of the other children would somehow influence her little brother.

_He spends the rest of his time reading books and helping your father out with his ministry work._

_Draco also pleaded me to ask you what you'd want for your birthday? I told him he knew the answer but he insisted, so if you could manage to think about something to tell him, that would be appreciated._

_We dearly miss you and hope to hear from you soon. _

_Love from your mother_

_N. M._

Lyra smiled to herself and folded the letter to put it back into the beautifully engraved envelope. She would write back to her mother after class, so she could be unbothered. She wanted to pay a visit to the library any way.

She threw a look over to Kate right when the other girl glanced at Alec again. Lyra just shook her head again and sighed. "Okay, does anyone care to enlighten me about what happened yesterday when I was gone?", she asked with an expectant look at her two friends.

The two Slytherins glared at each other before returning to their previous tasks. After a while Kate finally spoke up, "Alec and I had an argument."

Lyra was waiting for her to continue but nothing came. "And?" She asked impatient, rolling her eyes.

Alec sighed and sat down his bowl of cereal. "I just told her that I thought she'd probably been better off in Gryffindor."

"But you said it in rather different tone! It's like you really want to get rid of me!"

"Well, maybe I do!"

Kate gasped and Lyra hit Alec with her spoon. "Gosh! No you don't! Can you not keep your mouth shut for a second or at least think before you talk!?"

"She's the annoying one." Alec muffled and turned back to his breakfast.

Kate slammed the _Daily Prophet _down on the table, which drew the attention of a few fellow Slytherins to them.

"I am not annoying! You just can not handle the fact that my father is a Muggleborn! Honestly! We are not living in the medieval ages any more, Fawley! Wake up!" Kate looked at both of them with an angry look and made a rather dramatic exit out of the Great Hall.

Lyra looked after her for while before turning back to Alec. "Damn it, Alec! Please just think next time before you say something like that. What would you feel like if someone would tell you that you are evil just because your ancestors were?"

There was a short awkward silence between the two in which many of the people, who had been watching them, turned their attention back to their own problems. The blonde took a glimpse at the Gryffindor table and spotted the twins right way. Fred was grinning at her while George had a concerned look on his face that said 'Everything okay?'. Lyra nodded and smiled at them.

"Do you think I'm evil?" Alec asked, taking Lyra by surprise.

"What? No! Of course not! Look, you're just a bit insensitive, that's all."

The raven-haired boy chuckled. "Thanks."

"What? It's true." Lyra paused. "You know, go after her and apologise. We'll meet before DADA. Yeah?"

Alec nodded and smiled at her before getting up and exiting the Great Hall.

The girl smiled and shook her head. Maybe Kate and Alec didn't get along just yet but she was sure the tension between them would change at some point.

She pocketed her mail from this morning, as well as Alec's letter, and shouldered her bag. She threw another glance at the Gryffindor table and saw that the twins were getting up right at this moment. Lyra smiled again, before making her way in their direction.

* * *

**October 3rd, 1989**

"You what?" Lyra exclaimed with widened eyes and a mouth filled with chocolate.

The twins had just told her that they had went into the Forbidden Forest last night and managed to not get caught by Hagrid or Filch.

Over the past month she had realised that the twins hadn't been exaggerating when they had told her about their pranks and plans from the past and for the future. They had managed to loose Gryffindor more than fifty points by now and had gotten themselves into detention more than once. And although Lyra definitely did not approve of their ideas all the time and refused every time they asked her to join them, she found it rather hilarious when they told her about their adventures.

The trio had found a better spot to meet up and spend their time than the old broom closet next to the Great Hall. They had an amazing outlook on the grounds of Hogwarts from a windowsill on the fifth floor. It was the one that was the furthest in the back and almost always empty, because students preferred the ones closer to their classrooms and common rooms.

Even though she sill spend most of her time with Alec and Kate and sometimes even the other first-year Slytherins, she enjoyed the twins' company just as much. The two redheads had introduced her to their friend Lee Jordan, who at first wasn't to eager to become friends with her, but eventually warmed up to her. They had held a rather long conversation about magical creatures and he had seemed really surprised at how much she knew about them. After that all his prejudices were gone.

She was pulled out of her thoughts when Fred led out a loud laugh.

"You look great, Malfoy!"

Lyra threw Fred a confused look before realising he was laughing at her face. She turned her head in George's direction and threw him a pleading look. The other twin smiled broadly at her before reaching into her bag and pulling out a tissue for her.

"You got chocolate all over your face." He said in a fond voice before passing her the tissue with a wide grin.

Shaking her head and feeling her cheeks go red, she quickly wiped across her face. It wasn't that much chocolate but she now knew why Fred was laughing at her- her nose had a whole lot of chocolate on it.

"Shut up, Weasley!" She laughed and suddenly all three of them were laughing loudly.

Another thing Lyra had learned about the Weasley twins was that their laugh was awfully contagious- and she loved it.

* * *

**October 25th, 1989**

The blonde Malfoy was sitting at the Slytherin table in the Great Hall on her own, eating lunch and reading the book they had been assigned to read for History of Magic.

The rest of the Slytherin first-years had decided to eat later, as they had the afternoon off, and were spending the supposedly last warm day of the year outside on the grounds. Lyra had seen that as her chance to spend a bit time on her own, as she was always surrounded by her friends or other students.

The Great Hall was rather empty. It seemed like many students had decided to spend their lunch break outside, but Lyra wasn't feeling up to that right now.

Instead she had decided to be productive and finish her assignments for the next lessons. She had just finished the chapter on the _Gargoyle Strike of 1911 _when she saw two people sit across from her out of the corner of her eye.

"Wow, Georgie, guess what I didn't expect to see?" The voice of Fred Weasley spoke.

"I don't know, Fred, what would it be?" His twin answered.

"Lyra Malfoy, sitting in the Great Hall- studying."

The blonde shook her head, smiling, and closed the book in front of her. "Something you both should take into consideration some time."

"Very funny." Fred playfully rolled his eyes before shifting his look into a more serious one. "So, when did you want to enlighten us about it?"

"About what?"

Again Fred rolled his eyes but this time George spoke, "About your birthday being in practically a week!"

Lyra just chuckled. "Certainly sounds like I didn't need to tell you. You found it out yourself, didn't you?"

"Not exactly."

"We overheard a conversation between your two Slyther-friends, Alec and Kate, and thought we'd ask you personally before jumping to conclusions."

The girl brushed a strand of her straight hair behind her ear and smirked. "Stalking my friends now, Weasley?" It was directed at both of the twins but she looked at neither of them as she packed her books back into her bag.

"Wha- No!"

"I'm just joking, don't worry!"

She heard the boys sigh as she stood up from the table, grabbed a green apple and made her way out of the hall.

The twins immediately followed behind- of course she was heading to the library.

"Any specific wishes?" Fred asked.

Lyra thought about it for a short moment but then decided she already had everything she wanted. "Don't worry about it. I don't need anything at the moment, but thanks."

"Oh, come on."

"Everyone wishes for _something_!"

"Yeah, we insist!"

Lyra stopped abruptly in front of the library, which made both boys almost bump into her. "You know what? Surprise me!"

"Can you make it easy for us just this once?"

"I'm a Malfoy- I don't do easy." The blonde smirked and then entered the library.

Fred and George just sighed and made their way after the girl.

"Alright, a surprise it is then." George whispered as they sat down at a table between two bookshelves. He then remembered that they had forgotten to tell Lyra about an idea they had had the other day. He grinned at Fred who immediately knew what he was thinking.

Lyra, who had opened her Potions homework now, was completely oblivious to the wordless conversation between the two brothers and was gald she got a moment of silence.

"We had an idea." Fred suddenly said out loud which earned him a 'Shhhh' from someone else in the library.

"We had an idea- for a new invention." He said again- this time in a lower voice. The phrase had the intended effect on Lyra, who closed her homework and devoted her whole attention to the twins. "I'm listening."

* * *

**October 31st, 1989**

Lyra had been woken up this morning by an overenthusiastic Kate, who immediately had started bombarding her with birthday wishes, waking up the other Slytherin girls in the process.

Her best friend had told any one who wanted and didn't want to hear it about Lyra's birthday. And Alec, who had been laughing all morning at Lyra's misery and Kate's enthusiasm, had loudly exclaimed his birthday wishes at breakfast. Lyra had been greatly embarrassed but acted like it didn't bother her at all.

All three of them were currently sitting at their house table in the Great Hall, doing their homework and eating lunch.

The Great Hall was being decorated for the Halloween feast tonight. A big number of pumpkins, hand carved by Hagrid himself, were being put in place and Professor Flitwick was summoning live bats to fly around the room all day.

The tables were decorated with small pumpkins, black cauldrons and goblets that were al filled with a vast variety of sweets.

Lyra had received some presents today already. Amelyn had greeted her this morning with a large package- exhausted from the long flight she had went to sleep in her cage right away.

The package had contained two books; _Animal Ghosts of Britain_ from her mother and _Qudditch Through the Ages _from Draco, with a note saying:

_Maybe you'll grow to love the sport by reading about it. _

_Happy Birthday,_

_Draco_

And although she didn't get anything big from her father (which wasn't unexpected), he had written his initials under the letter he had received from his mother.

From Alec she had gotten an expensive eagle-feather quill and from Kate she'd gotten Omnioculars which were useful for following the players at the Quidditch game. Lyra wasn't particularly interested in the sport but would probably follow the games here at Hogwarts.

It wasn't until later in the day that she had her first encounter with the twins. They drew just as much attention to them while congratulating her as Alec had this morning.

"Hey! Birthday girl!" Fred had shouted from across the room with a huge grin on his face. He and George came running in her direction and both started singing 'Happy Birthday' rather loudly.

They both seemed satisfied when they saw Lyra's embarrassed smile. "Thanks, but could you maybe stop drawing so much attention in our direction." She murmured and scratched her elbow.

"What? It's your birthday!" George said in an exaggerating manor and even bowed. Lyra just lightly shoved him out of the way with a grin and made her way up the stairs next to Fred.

"I assume you want your present?"

When George reached the two he was breathing heavily. He pulled a small package out of his worn robes and presented it to the young girl.

She took the present with caution and eyed it suspiciously. The twins wouldn't gift her something dangerous would they? No, she was sure they wouldn't. But then again, they had gifted their housemate Angelina Johnson a box full of itching powder on her birthday. She wouldn't put it beyond Fred and George to gift her something mischievous.

Just to make sure she tried asking them about it but they refused to tell her as it was supposed to be a surprise.

"Don't you trust us, Lyra?" George asked, a faked hurt look on his face.

The blonde sighed. She slowly opened the green wrapped package while holding it away from her body (just in case). As nothing exploded or hopped out of the box she cautiously glanced inside it.

Feathers. There were feathers in the box. What the hell? This was one of their pranks, wasn't it? But it didn't have any thing dangerous to it. But then again, never trust a book by it's cover, right!?

"Feathers!?" Lyra asked, eyeing the twins suspiciously. They were know both sitting on the windowsill, looking expectantly at the girl in front of them.

Fred chuckled. "Remove them, dumbass!"

A little bewildered Lyra took a hand full of the white, soft feathers out of the box and put them down. She was a bit perplexed as she pulled out a rather small item and set the box down.

In her hand was a small radio. It was dangling from a chain indicated it was to be a necklace. She didn't know what to do with it or whether or not this was a joke. She looked back at the twins, tilting her head just slightly so they would know what she was asking.

"Doesn't look like much, does it?" Fred smirked and leaned his back against the window.

George got up and carefully took the radio on the chain out of Lyra's hand. "Can you see this small button?" He asked pointing to a red dot on the radio. "When you touch it with the tip of your wand it will enlarge itself and you have a normal, functioning radio!"

Instead of demonstrating it himself, he indicated for Lyra to do it. He put the radio down next to Fred on the windowsill and waited for Lyra to pull out her wand.

Carefully, and still keeping her distance to the object, Lyra pulled her wand out of her robes and did as George had shown her. And really- the radio enlarged into its normal state and started playing a quiet song.

"That's brilliant." The blonde heard herself saying.

Radios were not very common in the wizarding world as many Purebloods disapproved of the usage of them. Lyra knew from her father that Muggles invented them and that there were quite a few radio stations hosted by wizards or witches. Some were informative ones, some talked all day about news and some played music by wizarding bands.

Lyra had always thought she'd buy one for herself if she ever had the chance but how would the twins know that?

"Thank you! I really like it." She smiled. "But why, if I may ask?"

The twins both shrugged. "Dad has tons of these laying around at home and we asked him to send us one per owl."

"Yeah, you can consider it a present from him too." The three laughed.

It had been a pretty amazing birthday until now and Lyra knew that the feast would just add to this magical day. She'd received amazing presents from people she hadn't known for long but who had become her friends on her first day.

She loved it here at Hogwarts and although she'd felt homesick at times the castle had become her new home in just two months.

As the bell rang, indicating that the Halloween feast was about to begin, the trio made their way down the staircase and into the Great Hall, talking about whether or not they would be staying here over Christmas.

The twins waved at her with bright grins when they parted ways to sit at their respective house-tables. Lyra found Alec and Kate on the other side of the Slytherin table and walked up to them with a bright smile, thinking to herself that this was what she had wished for when she had started here- friends and happiness.

* * *

**A/N: **Boring? I don't know, maybe? Well, if it is I'm truly sorry but I'm trying to put in a few chapters with important moments from the years to come so I can finally enter a more interesting time in Lyra's life ;)

And if you're asking yourself 'why would a shrinkable radio be important', just wait for it! It'll make sense later on.

Love,

Lisa


	6. Chapter 6

**Introduction, pt. 6**

[6]- Full of Change

**Disclaimer**: Harry Potter n'est pas à moi. (don't kill me, I'm not french)

Again- this is one of the filling chapters with important/ meaningful moments in the timeline before the story actually starts.

Last chapter for the Introduction!

This is a chapter about thoughts and moments and opinions and stuff in Lyra's first and second year. Pay attention to the fat printed names otherwise it might get a little confusing.

**Fred Weasley**

If someone had told me that I would be friends with Lucius Malfoy's daughter a few months ago I would have punched them in the face. By someone I mean Percy and by punching them in the face I mean killing him, but that's beside the point.

But honestly- I would've never expected for a daughter of a wealthy pureblood wizard, that had a stick so far up his butt that not even Aunt Muriel with her long, thin fingers could pull it out, to be so open. Well, not particularly outgoing- she doesn't talk a lot- but rather open about welcoming people- even if they were half-bloods or known 'blood-traitors'.

I did realise that she wasn't particularly fond of Muggleborns though, but she manages to be nice enough around them and not call them the bad 'M'-word. Although I don't think she'd ever use it- I asked her about it once and she slapped me with one of her books and looked really offended.

George has set himself up to a mission to get Lyra to understand our ways of looking at those kinds of things and even if she really tries to be nice about it and not make any mean comments, sometimes she slips and then it's bad.

George and I generally try to ignore what she said and change the topic immediately. Sometimes it works but sometimes it doesn't.

I guess she can't really help it- her family raised her with beliefs like 'Muggleborns aren't supposed to be here at all' or 'they steal our magic'. Maybe someday she'll be able to get over it and build an opinion herself, but until then the Muggleborns have to deal with weird looks and impulsive comments.

Otherwise I have to say, Lyra's great. She's really smart and she uses it- sometimes to her benefit or against us but mostly to gain house points in classes. She also finds our pranks hilarious and helps us out with most of them, but when it comes to pranking her housemates she usually encloses herself. Which we get, of course, but that doesn't prevent us from doing it anyway.

When we presented her the Marauder's Map, we had found it Filch's office, she immediately began researching and helping us figure it out. Thinking about the fact that we almost had thrown it away when we had first seen that it was just an empty piece of parchment makes me want to hold Ron out of the window again.

We discovered so many things through that map- mostly secret passageways and students or ghosts we'd never heard about. But the most fun thing for me was that we always knew were Percy was. Not because I cared for his whereabouts but more because he was easier to 'entertain' because we always knew where he was.

The most fun thing for George to do with the map was look for , when she wasn't with us, he would watch her every step on the map. It's creeping me out most of the time but I couldn't really blame him for his crush on her. I'm pretty sure it will go away eventually, but right now I don't really mind.

It's a bit fun even. I don't think he has realised it himself just yet but I'll make sure he does soon.

Any ways, back to the topic; Lyra introduced us to her friends Alec and Katherine a few days before she left for Christmas. I can't say we've become best friends yet, especially after we shot a few jinxes at Alec in November- he wasn't willing to hang out with us for long after that.

When everyone had left for Christmas, George and I pulled a few pranks on our little brother Ron. Well, actually I was the one who pulled them; George was to busy exchanging letters with Lyra.

At some point she stopped writing and George thought he'd done something wrong. I was feeling sorry for him for a very short minute before our little sister Ginny was caught steeling one of our brooms and flying around with them in the garden.

Ginny really had a bad influence from us- according to Ron she causes any kinds of trouble when we're not at home. But of course Mum forgives her for everything- our little sweet no-wrong Ginny.

George was sad for the rest of Christmas break and it made me feel sick. I asked him a few times if we wanted to blow up the ghoul in our attic and he never even acknowledged my attempts.

It didn't get better when we came back to Hogwarts; Lyra ignored us whenever she could afford to and only hung out with Alec and Kate. George and I pulled the latter aside once in a hallway.

When we asked her what was going on with Lyra she strictly refused to tell us and then left without another word. Rude if you ask me.

**George Weasley**

After our talk wit Lyra's friend Kate I got even more confused. I just couldn't explain to myself why she would suddenly stop sending me letters. Was it something I had done? Or had she finally realised that hanging out with two Gryffindors who were also Weasleys was ruining the reputation of her family?

It turned out that neither of those were true; Charlie came to us one day and told us that Lyra had come to talk to him. To him! Out of all people Lyra had the chance to talk to she chose my older brother! They hadn't even officially met yet!

Charlie said that her father had thrown a huge fit when he found out that his daughter was friends with the kids of the man he hated most, and then it did made sense; in the last letter she had send me she had said that she would be away over the rest of the holidays and only her father would be at the Manor- it only made sense that he had received the letter and read the forwarder.

I internally cursed and blamed myself for my stupidity- I've been so wrapped up in just communicating with Lyra, even over the holidays, that I didn't even think when I send that last letter. Seriously how stupid could one be?

Fred eventually forced me to confront her, but that turned out to be nearly impossible. Every time I tried to talk to Lyra, she either hurried away or she actually waited for me to approach her but we were detained by her friends.

Three Slytherin girls- who I didn't know the name of- seemed to have made it their job to prevent me and Lyra from talking. They were the ones that dragged Lyra away every time she actually looked like she was willing to talk to me.

At some point after the thirteenth time I tried to solve our problem I decided that I had to meet her somewhere where no one else would be with her.

The first place that came to mind was the library but that wasn't exactly the best place to hold a conversation about her father. So I chose to skip watching the next Quidditch game.

Yeah, when I told Fred he was just as shocked. I quote; "How can you give up a game like Quidditch for a talk with a girl? That's insane, man! Let's go and get you checked with Madam Pomfrey!"

I know him well enough to get that he was definitely not at all concerned about my mental health, but I also know that he didn'twant to go to the game without me. Not that I'd tell him that ever.

It turned out that I was right; Lyra didn't go to the game. I found her in the Great Hall- studying.

I would be understating if I'd say it wasn't awkward, but we figured everything out eventually. We complied that there would be no letter exchanging over the holidays any more and that we would keep our public interactions to a minimum.

It wasn't the ideal compromise but it was better than nothing at all …

**Ophelia Cruore**

What does Lyra Malfoy have with these twins? They're annoying little prats that think themselves better than everybody else. Pulling pranks on every one around them, hexing teachers and befriending the Poltergeist of the school! It really couldn't get any more annoying, could it!?

I, for one, think that Lyra deserves much better friends. Hanging out with Gryffindors only damages her reputation and more importantly the reputation of her family!

My parents have been friends with the Malfoy family for ages, so I do know them pretty well. I know that Lucius would never let his daughter around people like the Weasley- twins and I honestly don't know what's gotten into Lyra to actually do that. I really hope that it is just a phase.

We don't want her to turn into a blood-traitor, do we?

**Alec Fawley**

Okay, what the hell is the matter with girls at this age? At first they treat you as if you mean the world to them and then suddenly they have better things to do than spend their time with you?!

I hadn't been too sure of Lyra at the beginning of the year but after the Christmas holidays I thought some sense had finally gotten into her. Now she's hanging out with the Weasleys, again!

When she'd told me and Kate what her father had said about her receiving letters from a certain 'George Weasley' I'd thought she'd finally realised her mistake. After all, Lyra is a very smart witch.

But no! Apparently she had to prove me wrong- She thinks we don't notice but we do know that every time she leaves us to 'study in the library' or to 'go take a walk to think' she's actually meeting up with the twins.

I just don't really get what's so awesome about being around blood-traitors. She's a Malfoy, for Merlin's sake! She shouldn't be doing that!

**Katherine Grey**

I don't really get Alec's problem. It's not that I particularly like to think about Lyra being with two guys who are known troublemakers but I also think that she out of all people can take good care of herself.

I'm pretty sure that she calculated everything out- she's a Slytherin after all.

When Lyra had told us that her father had been mad at her about exchanging letters with one of the Weasleys we didn't dare ask any more. Lucius Malfoy wasn't known to go easy on people that didn't play by his rules- at least that's what Alec told me. But Lucius Malfoy would also never punish his children for something that simple, right?

It didn't take too long for Lyra to start meeting up with the twins again. It was after the Qudditch game between Slytherin and Ravenclaw that she started disappearing with bad excuses.

And even though Alec stopped caring about whether Lyra got caught or not after just a few weeks, I couldn't shake off the feeling that the Weasley twins were starting to have a bad influence on her.

When we talked about our families or anything in that direction she talked about her father as if he was a stranger and she didn't mention her mother or her brother at all. But then again- she could never hate them.

It wasn't until exams started coming up that Lyra started to skip meals in the Great Hall just to eat in the kitchens later at night. I was really worried about her at that time.

She wasn't always with the twins when she wasn't with us but in the library- studying. And although I didn't mind that she wanted to study rather than help the twins cause trouble or do nothing with me and Alec for hours, she spent way to much time in front of books.

I had to tell her off more than once and she snapped at me more than enough. It was getting to her head, I realised that quickly.

This time I was the first one to give up on her though. Alec continuously tried to persuade her to stop studying and go out of the castle with us, but not even he could do it. He was so desperate that he even asked the twins for help once but they just told him that it was better to let Lyra do whatever it was she was doing.

And we did.

**Alec**

Finally, when exams had finished Lyra decided to honour us with her presence at our table in the Great Hall.

"Good Morning." She said, letting herself fall into the space next to Kate. The two of us just exchanged a quick glance.

"Morning?" Kate answered questioningly.

I could see it in Lyra's eyes that she didn't want to talk about the past four weeks or so but I really didn't care right now. She ignored us for a pretty long time and the first words she speaks to us again are 'Good morning'!?

"What the hell was going on with you the past month! You didn't talk to us for weeks and now you come here with 'Good Morning'!?"

My eyes widened at Kate's voice. "Calm down, Katie! We're not alone!" I murmured glancing around the table.

"I'm sorry okay? I was just so caught up in studying-"

"And you couldn't eat with us because you were studying? You couldn't answer our questions because 'you were studying'. Next time you should think about a better excuse to ignore your friends." Kate's voice had changed into something calmer but her eyes were still glistening with anger.

"Maybe I wasn't just studying! But I needed some time on my own and I thought you'd understand." Lyra seemed to actually mean it and I genuinely believed her.

Kate on the other hand still didn't look convinced. "Alright." She said calmly, which surprised me a bit. "But next time you should seriously think about a better excuse than 'I was caught up in studying'"

And although the two girls laughed, the tension wasn't gone yet.

**Lyra Malfoy**

Honestly I hadn't been too worried about anyone's thoughts in the past couple weeks. I just had four weeks of studying and drowning in self-pity, because of a letter my father had sent me, behind me and I was now looking ahead at maybe the worst summer ever. Just thinking about seeing my father everyday made me want to throw up.

In his letter he had told me how disappointed he was in me and that he would overthink sending me to Durmstrang next year.

I knew that he wanted to send Draco there and that it had been his initial idea to send me there too before Mother had interfered and said that everyone in the family had gone to Hogwarts so her children would as well. I doubt that he cares about Mothers opinions at all after he found out that I was still in contact with the Weasley twins.

I knew that Kate was still mad at me- she didn't make it a secret. But I was pretty sure that she'd calm down eventually.

One hour before the Hogwarts Express would begin it's journey back to London I went up to the first floor corridor, waiting patiently for the twins on a windowsill.

I had told them that it wouldn't be possible to say goodbye in London because my parents would be there to pick me up and I didn't want Fred and George to get killed by the hands of my own father.

They had found it funny- I hadn't.

On the train I sat in a compartment alone with Alec and Kate. We didn't speak at all, but it wasn't uncomfortable silence- it was enjoyable, really. Kate was drawing something and Alec was watching her while I read the book Mother had given me for my birthday.

**George**

I would be lying if I said that I didn't miss Lyra. More than once I found myself looking for a piece of parchment just to realise that I couldn't write to her. She had explicitly said that if we'd write to her she would send someone to murder us by hand if she was still alive.

She had laughed- I hadn't.

Fred and I had a pretty awesome summer; we pulled a few of our best pranks and even played Quidditch with Ginny while Mum, Dad and Percy were gone. But something was missing.

When I asked Fred about it he just shrugged and went back to structuring an idea for a joke article on the back-cover of an old book.

After a few weeks I decided to stop worrying about it and actually help Fred out with some of our jokes. Like I said; a pretty awesome summer.

Back at King's Cross Station on 1st September I spotted a head of platinum-blonde hair that looked suspiciously similar to Lyra. I could only get a glimpse of her talking to a house-elf before being pulled into a bone-crushing hug by Mum.

On the train, Fred and I were looking for a compartment as we found Lyra sitting in one, talking excitingly to Lee Jordan.

Lyra had changed clearly over the summer; her hair was even brighter than before but her skin looked more tanned, probably from all the sun. She had grown a good few centimetres but still was shorter than me and Fred. She looked even more beautiful than last year.

When my brother and I entered the compartment she greeted us with a hug as if we hadn't acted like strangers in the hallways all of the past semester. She smiled brightly but her eyes held dark circles.

Something was off- really off.

I seemed to be the only one noticing her weird behaviour though- Fred just sat down next to her and started partaking in the conversation between Lee and Lyra.

Why wasn't she with her Slytherin friends? Not that I didn't want her here with us but she had demanded from us last year to act as if we didn't know each other in public.

After a while, Lee excused himself to go look for Angelina and Alicia and Lyra was left alone with Fred and I.

But instead of the uncomfortable silence, that I had expected, laughter filled our compartment. Fred had told Lyra about the time we had transfigured Percy's glasses into toilet seat-shaped ones by means of Dad's wand.

Just then on the train I hoped that maybe this year wouldn't be as stressful for Lyra as our first. I knew that she hadn't only been studying all May- but I also didn't know what else she had been up to.

I would have really liked to ask Lyra about her summer. But then again- she didn't look like she had had enough rest. I was pretty sure that her father had been the cause of that and asking about it would only make it worse. Maybe she'd tell us on her own some time.

**Fred**

Georgie and I had decided over the summer that we'd try out for the Gryffindor Quidditch-team this year as beaters. I was looking forward to it and honestly, our brother had probably never seen better beaters in his life.

As George and I grew up with Quidditch and had an Charlie as an older brother, who was the best seeker Hogwarts had seen in a while, the conditions were looking pretty well. Not that I'd let that fact get to my head, of course.

When we had told Lyra she had grunted at first but then she had cheered us on. I think she just wasn't too keen on having to go to every Quidditch match of Gryffindor if we actually made it into the team. It was a known fact that Lyra Malfoy wasn't a huge fan of every wizards favourite sport.

Around the time the try-outs had begun George started complaining that something was off, but couldn't tell me what it was. He asked me weird questions and for the first time in our short lives I found myself confused by George's behaviour.

I knew it had to do with Lyra- I wasn't blind- but I couldn't guess what it was.

Georgie had a crush on her- of that I was certain- but aside from that I didn't know what was bothering him.

Until he told me a few weeks later;

"Don't you think it's weird that, after the summer holidays, Lyra didn't seem bothered at all by the fact that she was publicly being around us again, after what she had asked us last year?"

And he was right- it was weird.

Last year, Lyra had been as careful as ever not to be seen with us and now she sometimes sat with us at our house table. She studied with us (well, she studied, we planned) and she even pulled pranks with us.

And although she was still spending time with her other friends I had gotten the feeling that she was purposely trying to avoid them at times.

But to be honest, I really didn't want to ask- last time I had asked her something she had hit me with a very heavy book. I think that's why I have developed an allergy against the library …

It took us a while to pluck up some courage to actually ask the witch what was going on. Although bravery was one thing that I prided myself on, asking Lyra about her family demanded more than that.

So, when we finally approached her we were very careful to phrase everything right, and it worked. She stayed calm- maybe that was because we were surrounded by people but I like to think she did it because she actually wanted to tell us.

When she told us about how her father had commanded her around all summer and had acted like she was a servant rather than his daughter, George and I were shocked.

We both knew that Lucius Malfoy was an arrogant git who thought himself better than anyone else, but we had also thought that he would treat his family just as highly as he always pretended to around other ministry officials.

It was odd to think about someone who grew up in conditions like Lyra, to actually still be nice to most of the people around her, but somehow Lyra had managed not only to be better than her ancestors at almost anything but also to have rather good heart, you know, for a Malfoy and all!?

**George**

After the rather unusual dark conversation we'd had with Lyra, almost everything went back to normal. I had to give it to her; she was a strong girl- that was undeniable. How she managed it was a mystery to me, but as long as she stayed the way she was, it would be fine with me.

The way she was- she was actually very Slytherin, but then again, who'd said that all Slytherins had to be pricks? She was really clever and I think without her we wouldn't have gotten away with some of our pranks. Also, she was really funny and-

What was I thinking? This shouldn't be happening! I didn't want Fred's accusations to be true! Or did I?

I knew that I saw Lyra in a different light than Fred, but I quickly shoved that thought far back into the debts of my mind. It wasn't right and I should know that. Especially considering our families reputations ...

Sometimes Fred left me alone with her for quite a while 'getting something' or 'going to talk to Lee'. Lyra didn't seem to notice that Fred was playing us out and that he was behaving like a five year old, but I did. It annoyed me back then and it probably always will. Just thinking about what ideas he had in his head made me want to smack him ...

At some point before Christmas Lyra came us and asked us something I'd never thought possible; she asked if we would mind her visiting the Burrow after Christmas.

Of course we had told her that she'd always be welcome with us (mainly because we wanted to show Mum that Lyra wasn't so well-behaved around us as she thought her to be). Mum has been dying to meet her ever since I told her about 'this girl in our year'. I mean she did freak out when we told her Lyra's last name but for her that was just one more reason to meet her.

Mum still went stiff whenever we mentioned Lyra's name but I'll just blame that on her being excited fo the time being.

But when Lyra actually asked us if she could stay, that blew my mind. She had only shrugged it off when we had presented her our offer and now she was the one sugeesting it to us. Saying that I was mildly surprised would be an understatement.

Fred had the nerve to ask her if everything was alright (although we both knew that that was never a good idea) and she had taken it quite personal. Go, Fred!

After a while, when she had calmed down, we asked her again if she was sure and she responded with a simple and clear 'Yes'.

So the next day we wrote a letter to Mum to tell her that Lyra would stay with us for the last week of the holidays. Mum was quite surprised to hear it but eventually gave in.

I have to say that those letters were probably the weirdest ones I've ever written and the weirdest ones I've ever received.

Because really; why in Godric's name would our mother really accept a Malfoy to set a foot over our doorstep?!

**Lyra**

I had been really nervous to ask the boys about my holiday plans. It wasn't a secret that their family and mine didn't really get along and asking them to let me stay must've sound really suspicious if not completely crazy.

Mrs. Weasley was an amazing mother, of that I was sure. Every time Charlie and I had talked- which hadn't been often- he had given me a positive picture of his family. Even the twins' eyes glimmered in admiration when they talked about their father or their oldest brother Bill.

But why was it so hard for me to just accept it when they told me I could come? Why was it so hard to believe them that their mother was not thinking about killing me the first time she looked me in the eyes?

"It's not a problem, really!" George had said with a genuine smile.

Fred on the other hand, tactful as always, had asked, "You alright?"

Of course, I had been offended at first. To my defense, it had sounded a bit personal.

I admittedly had thought about not telling them the truth, but how would that helped our friendship?

"I honestly don't know ... my parents definitely won't let me, but-"

"Then why? I mean, I don't mind you staying with us and I'm sure our family'll be fine with it, but if you are certain that it won't work out, why do you even asked?" Fred had interrupted me.

I had just scoffed at him and said; "As I was saying, Fred; I'm going to try and convince my mother. She won't be pleased, but I know she'll let if I present her reasonable arguments."

"And how do you plan on doing that?"

"Let me worry about that." I had smirked at the confusion on their faces. To be honest, back then I had no idea what I would tell mother.

"What about your Dad?" George had asked.

Of course my response to that had been a deep sigh. Yeah, what about my Dad?

"Well, mother said he won't be at the manor over the holidays, which roughly translates to he will be attending very important and secretive meetings, no one is supposed to know about." Another sigh. "I guess I'll just have to rely on my mother's words here. I'm not going to ask him ... That would-" I had barely stopped myself from revealing something I'd later regret. Telling them about my father's ... well, emotional outbursts, would only result in them worrying. And I couldn't afford that right then.

"That would only make things harder than they are, wouldn't it?"

The twins had dropped the subject after that. They trusted me in asking my mother for her permission, and although I was sort of dreading the confrontation, I was sure she'd let me. After all, she did love me.

The next day I wrote a letter to my mother about my situation and I tried to sound a reasonable and sweet as I could. Maybe I shouldn't have said the name of the family ... Why didn't I think about telling her I was going to Kate?

Mother didn't know her parents. But then again- she would want to meet them.

I was sort of glad that my mother wouldn't want to get in contact with Molly or Arthur Weasley- a mutual feeling according to Fred.

Of course I was rather nervous about going to the Weasleys. Especially because I had been the one to ask. Maybe I should stop worrying about it to much. I was going there because I wanted to have a good time with Fred and George- not to impress their parents. After all, I wasn't dating one of them or anything so there really was no need to impress anyone.

Right ...

I was pulled out of my thoughts when I saw frantic movements in the corner of my eye. Someone was standing next to me, trying to get my attention.

Looking up from my book I spotted a girl, dressed in Hufflepuff-robes and unnaturally looking yellow hair.

It was the girl I had seen at the beginning-of-term banquet last year. She had been looking at me curiously as if she knew me.

I had crossed paths with her more than once in my time at Hogwarts, and although I knew that Hufflepuffs were the kindest and most loyal people on earth I'd always found her suspicious.

Fred and George had always just suggested to pull pranks on her because she was one of Charlie's friends.

Now that girl was standing right next to me, smiling and looking quite confident.

"How can I help you?" I asked her. Honestly, it was slowly giving me chills seeing her so- well, happy to see me. Had she confused me with someone?

The girl seemed to realise that she wa staring and shook her head, apologising for her odd behaviour.

"It's fine, really. I just don't usually have people I barely know, watching me in the library."

"Oh, yeah. Sorry, about the staring! I just- I didn't know how to approach you, really. Have been trying to do so since March."

My eyes went wide at that. This girl had been trying to approach me since March? What a weird usage of tjat word ...

I cleared my throat. "Oh, really?"

"Sorry, I didn't mean to sound weird." She sat down next to me. "It's not that I've been wanting to talk to you in _that _way- Not that I wouldn't! Because under other circumstances I totally- Merlin, I'm rambling. Sorry."

Her rambling made me grin. Never had I seen a seventh-year so nervous around other students or ever, for that matter.

The girl looked at the books on the ground she had knocked over with her wild hand gestures. Sighing, she pulled out her wand and whispered a spell. The books rearranged themselves and she leaned back in the seat next to me.

"Can we start over? I had planned out this whole conversation but you must know that I'm a bit awkward. Not always, of course, but sometimes I just lose my point and then I start to ramble- As I'm doing right now. Sorry"

I was laughing at her. Not out of a hateful way but rather because she was acting really nervous, as if it was something special to meet me.

"Yeah, alright, let's start over. My name's Lyra Malfoy." I reached out with my hand to shake hers, but she didn't comply.

"Nymphadora. Tonks. But if you ever call me Nymphadora I'm going to hurt you, just so that is clear."

I remember staring at her, dumbfounded. I was so shocked by her last name that I completely forgot my confidence.

"T-Tonks? As in Andromeda Tonks' daughter?"

"Yeah ... I know. I reacted the same way when Professor McGonnagall called your name at the sorting last year." She hesitated about what she wanted to say next. "Look, I know this is awkward, seeing as we're cousins and all that jazz. But I heard really good things about you from several people, mostly Charlie of course, but I really think that maybe we could work this out? Maybe not what happened between our mothers, but at least what's between us? Only if that's fine with you, of course-"

Clearing my throat, I straightened up again and slowly closed my book. This was amazing! I remember thinking about meeting my cousin for a long time. What mother would think if she could see me now?

But honestly, I couldn't care less. I had broken more than one of my familiy's beliefs and rules since here at Hogwarts. I had become best friends with so-called_ blood-traitors _who were despised by my whole family and I had turned my back on some of the more douchy housemates of mine. What else could happen if I became friends with the daughter of the sister my mother _really _despised?

"Um ... I mean, I'd love to, really."

Nymphad- no; Tonks smiles brightly at me, her eyes glimmering with happiness.

I really couldn't believe it- I had just met my cousin for the first time in my life! Of course I didn't know much about Tonks' mother or father for that matter. Mother never talked about them. Sometimes I have the feeling she regrets whatever her and my other aunt did to Andromeda to make them so angry at another. Maybe I would get the chance to find that out at some point ...

The rest of the term went by pretty fast; the twins came up with even more joke-products and pulled more than enough pranks on their fellow students. I helped them with a prank on a first-year, drowning him completely in water balloons, whixh earned us an applause from Peeves, the Poltergeist.

I received the letter from my mother two weeks after I had sent it. The letter clearly stated my mothers disbelief in my request and her guilty feeling about not my plea not to tell father about any of it. The piece of parchment was rather long, as my mother ranted on about how she would be disappointed in me if she didn't know I was responsible and could take csre of myself. I personally think she could've just sent a letter with the last two sentences on it, because those included the only information I needed; that I was allowed to go to the Weasleys.

When I told the twins, they were clearly surprised by my excitement. George gave me a warm, long hug. He wrapped his arms around me as if he wanted to never let me go, heaving me slightly from the floor, just so he didn't have to bend down so much.

Fred had made a face at that, which I couldn't quite decipher. But I was just enjoying George's hug right then and there, s I didn't really care.

I couldn't even say why I was so excited to spend some of my holidays with them. I just was ...

Christmas at the manor wasn't as awkward as I had imagined it. The tension between mother and myself was clearly tangible, but Draco didn't seem to notice. He asked me so much about Hogwarts, that sometimes I was so overwhelmed that I didn't even know the answer.

_"Did you find friends easily? Do we know them?" _were some of them.

We were sitting in the dining hall, eating dinner. One seat at the end of the table was empty per usual, while mother sat at the other end of the long table not looking pleased with some of Draco's questions.

I glanced at her, unsure of what to say to my little brother. Mother glanced back at me, a warning look on her face.

"Um, yeah. I met two of them on the train, but I'm sure you don't know them. But you have met Alec Fawley!"

"Yeah, the guy who had a crush on you when we were children." He laughed.

Mother looked up from her plate, eyeing Draco disapprovingly. "Draco, please, don't forget your manners. We are still having dinner. Behave."

Not for the first time in my life I was glad when the time at home came to an end.

I _did _start missing my little brother the moment I entered the Burrow for the first time, but aside from that I wasn't mad about leaving my family behind until summer.

The week at the Burrow was one of the most amazing but awkward times of my life. I met the twins' siblings, who all treated me nicer than I thought. Mrs Weasley even pulled me in a bone-crushing hug when she set Charlie, Percy, the twins and me off at King's Cross.

It was lovely, even though I couldn't ignore the mistrusting looks from almost everyone in the family. Percy was the only one who didn't say a word to me, neither did he look at me, really.

I shared a room with the youngest of the siblings, Ginny, for the week. She talked so much about Hogwarts and her older brothers, that I almost thought I had Draco in front of me again. Well, _she _was rather nice of course.

But the week didn't only provide me with enough social interaction to last a lifetime but also with some much needed alone time with the twins. Well, almost only with George. Everytime the three of us were alone, Fred just disappeared, leaving me with George.

We didn't talk too much. Sometimes we just sat in comfortable silence. I _was_ painfully aware of him watching me while I read, but I didn't comment on it, neither did I mind after a while. And although I'd never admit it to anyone, I found myself feeling relaxed whenever we found ourselves in that situation.

Fred on the other hand found it hilarious that his twin and I were getting along so much better than we'd expected.

I caught myself comparing the twins more often and finding even more differences between them, that didn't meet the eye.

George was the more quiet twin (as quiet as a Weasley twin could be), that was for sure. He was more perceptive than Fred (which was not very hard, as Fred had the empathy of a mistreated owl) and he was a very good listener.

Whereas Fred was more impulsive and blunt. He never thought before he talked, which put him in more trouble than he'd like to admit.

I think that without George's rational thinking (sometimes) they would have been expelled a few times by now. Although I also like to think about me being the one who keeps them grounded, but I don't want to praise myself too much.

The time flew by so fast after we came back to Hogwarts. I spend most of my time with the twins. Alec and Kate had had one of their fights again and I didn't want to be caught in the middle. Sometimes they acted as if they were five and I wouldn't out up with their out-of-character behaviour around each other.

So I found myself spending more time with Tonks in the library. We bonded over our family, even if we grew up with completely different measures.

Around the time of the fifth Quidditch match the twins finally got me to watch one of the games. It was not as boring as I thought it would be, but it wasn't very fun either. All three Weasleys landed in the hospital wing after the match, luckily with nothing more than a few bruised ribs. I went to visit them right after the game, greeting the twins with a simple _I told you so _look.

The rest of the year went by rather unspectacularly. Professor Snape stopped sending me suspicious looks and I actually had the feeling that he preferredme over some other students. Of course that could be because I was a Slytherin_ and _a Malfoy, but I highly doubt that he'd never gotten wind of my relationship with the twins.

I knew he was acquainted with my parents and I'd heard him sneak around the manor more times than not, but I never thought he'd be able to be actually_ nice _to someone.

The other lessons got more interesting the closer we were getting to the exams. With Professor McGonnagall we learned how to turn beetles into buttons (not very useful, but fun) and in History of Magic we learned everything about the Founding of Hogwarts (probably the only few lessons where almost nobody fell asleep). Charms was interesting as ever, we learned not only the theory of the Disarming charm but also the Slowing charm.

The moment Alec and Kate had made up again, we started studying together in the library. I found studying with them a lot more effective. They actually _did _study- something I can't claim about the twins.

The only thing that started bothering me after a while was my mother. Her writing felt tense in every letter she send me and she never even got so close to mentioning my father or my relationship with the twins.

Over the easter holidays I stayed at the manor. I had never felt fully comfortable in the enormous, dark building. You could hear every step echoing from the walls and arguments couls be hardly overheard as they sounded through the whole manor.

But this time it wasn't just the weird feeling I got everytime I stepped a foot in one of the rooms, it was also the tension in the air- and it wasn't even static.

Father was in a bad mood (as always) and treated me as strict as ever, Mother didn't even bother to hold up a normal conversation with and sometimes even avoided looking at me. Draco was the only one in the house who behaved as happy as ever; his time at Hogwarts was coming closer and even though he never verbally said so, I knew he was really excited to go.

At this point I was pretty sure Mother had told my father about my stay at the Burrow. She would never lie to her husband, even if telling him held consequences for her children (mostly me).

I could only hope that my exam results would make up for some of my mistakes. Not that_ I _saw them as mistakes, but my father did.

**George**

Two weeks before the summer holidays Charlie pulled us aside to anounce that Oliver Wood would become the new captain of our Quidditch team. He was a nice bloke, so I wasn't too mad.

Oliver had been helping us out in the beginning of the year with Quidditch, because Charlie had been too busy.

It was weird, thinking about Charlie graduating. Of course we still had Percy, but _he _wouldn't help us out when we had problems and he certainly wouldn't be laughing about our jokes and pranks as much as Charlie did.

I was only glad that Ronniekins was coming to Hogwarts next year. Not that I had missed him (no way), but he was a pretty easy target when it came to hexes and jinxes.

Lyra didn't approve of our plan of sending home a water-tap before the year ended. But that didn't mean we listened to her.

Of course Mum sent us back a Howler but it wasn't too bad and not even our first one.

When the end-of-term feast started coming closer, the castle started getting more hectic. Everyone was hurrying to the library to return books or just for the sake of annoying Madam Pince one last time.

Fred had left Lyra and me alone again and we were sitting on a windowsill on the fourth floor. Lyra was reading a random book (of course).

If I'd been the hat I would've sorted her into Ravenclaw ... But then again- there was no reason _not _to put her in Slytherin. I had learned over the past two years that not all Slytherins were bad and even Mum liked her- that must mean something.

I just hoped that Lyra wouldn't get into any trouble with her parents this summer- she didn't deserve that. Hell, she didn't deserve any of that shit her family put her through.

When she told us about Tonks a few months ago, she had been so excited- but of course she couldn't tell her parents about that. It was so unfair- how such a charming girl couldn't celebrate her happiness with her own family.

Lyra _did _talk about her brother, Draco, a lot, but I highly doubt that he is as amazing as her. He'll be the son of the arrogant prick everyone makes Lucius Malfoy out to be. Of course I couldn't tell Lyra that.

It made me sad that she wouldn't come visit us this summer. I knew that Ginny would have appreciated the female company, but not just her ... I would really miss the beautiful girl in front of me this summer ...

**Author's Note: **By Merlin's Beard, this took me _forever _to write! I'm really sorry that it took so long, but it was hard getting so much together for the rest of the year. I don't know if the grammar is correct and I don't know if anything feels rushed or unrealistic but as of now; I'm not going back to reread just now. I'm getting sick of my own writing in this chapter so I'll just let it be.

I'm going to try and get the next chapter up sooner but I don't have a good structure yet and I do have some tests coming up, so I hope you don't mind.

Next chapter will be the final start of the interesting (hopefully) part.

As always, be kind enough to leave a review.

love,

Lisa


	7. Chapter 7 - New Beginning

**Disclaimer:** Do I have to say this every chapter? - I don't own Harry Potter.

I just wanted to recommend listening to the soundtrack of the current movie we're in - gets you into the mood you should be in for the chapter.

\- oOo -

[7]- New Beginning

_"Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end."_

_\- Seneca_

-oOo-

It was a cold day in Wiltshire, England for it being the middle of August. Clouds were painting the sky and a fresh breeze was hugging the trees and bushes in the large garden of Malfoy manor. A small creature, wearing only an old pillowcase, with rips for arms and leg holes, could be seen working in the garden. Only if you looked very closely you could make it out to be something rather abnormal.

The manor was as gloomy and mysterious as ever and the low hanging grey clouds didn't help it's appearance to look more inviting.

If muggles were to see the manor they would be disturbed as to why someone would want to live in such a dark place. But then again, it wasn't detectable for muggles at all.

Lyra liked it like this in her home; dark and quiet. No shouting, no rude calls from any of the ancient portraits and no one there to stare her down with a look that could send her straight to Azkaban. Not yet, of course.

She was, of course, thinking about her father- Lucius Malfoy. Just shortly before the summer holidays had started he had gotten wind of his daughter's acquaintance with the Weasleys- which he had instructed her to avoid previously in the year. He had been furious when Lyra had set foot in the manor, after a rather long travel by portkey at the beginning of the summer, insulting her of damaging her family's reputation and making Draco's years at Hogwarts more complicated.

"He will have to fix everything you have done wrong, you fool! As always!" The man had shouted outrageously at his oldest child.

Lyra hadn't been bothered at first - it wasn't new that her father was disappointed in her. Insults had been thrown at her over the years, accusing her of ruining reputations and showing no respect to elders and betters.

Her father's worries had never aggravated her to the point when she actually felt shame. It wasn't that she cared for the reputation of her family that much anyway.

Of course, that sounds horrible, but would anyone want to be the heiress of a family, known for their blood prejudices, mistreatments against any kind of lower status creatures (and even humans) and interbreeding just to keep the bloodline pure?

Lyra certainly did not- she shuddered at the pure thought of her ancestors having the desire to, not just marry, but also to have sex with one another only for the sake of blood purity.

When Lucius had realised that his daughter did not care in the slightest as to what her family had to go through if she kept communicatimg with the Weasleys, he began dumping all of his anger on Narcissa.

Of course, Lyra was furious whenever she overheard her father talking her mother down just for the sake of _making _Lyra that emotional, but she held herself back from saying anything almost all summer - she knew her mother could take it.

Until two weeks before school started again, Lucius snapped; not only had he slapped his daughter right across her left cheek but also had he done it in front of Narcissa _and _Draco.

At that moment, Lyra would have done anything to reverse time and send Draco out before Lucius had his disgusting hands in her face.

But what happened, happened.

Draco avoided his father anytime he could for the rest of the summer- so did Lyra. But Draco wasn't furious with Lucius, no - he was scared. Scared for himself and potentially even about becoming like his father, although the latter was highly unlikely.

His whole life he had been taught to respect women and men equally (as long as they have the right blood) and to see his father of all people, his idol, slap his sister - his invincible sister who always stood up for her beliefs and never backed down, no matter what - had been a shock to him.

Draco had wanted his mother to do something, say something! But not even Narcissa Malfoy was brave enough to step up for her daughter.

_It was her own fault, _a deep voice had spoken in his head, trying to justify his fathers actions. _She didn't listen to him._

_But she didn't deserve it either! She's doing what makes her happy!, _another voice had argumented.

_But does what makes her happy really justify being acquainted with someone like **that**?_

And although the two voices kept arguing in his head, he tuned them out. This would be his first year at Hogwarts and he would not let anything ruin his excitement! So he did what everyone at the manor was doing; acting as if nothing strange had happened. As if it wasn't weird that Lyra didn't show up to dinner sometimes and that one particularly clumsy and stupid owl kept crashing into Draco's room- probably because of disorientation. It was all totally and completely fine.

Even going to Diagon Alley was alright, Draco told himself. His parents were getting him his things and Lyra was always near him, never letting him out of sight.

The hateful tension between Lyra and her father was nothing new, but it increased even more when the 1st September came around.

Lucius knew that his daughter would start spending her time with the Weasleys again as soon as she stepped foot on that train. It was a disgusting thought to him, but he hadn't expected much of his daughter anyway.

Sure, being top of the class was a great achievement and partly made up for her many mistakes, but it would never justify her traitorous actions. But Lucius already had some sort of plan. He was sure that Narcissa wouldn't agree but he could only care less. The reputation of the Malfoy family was at stake! The reputation he had worked so hard for in the past ten years.

Lyra did see her father's spiteful smirk when they arrived at King's Cross. His eyes were as cold as ever, but with a hint of glee in them.

The blonde just slightly shook her head. What did she care? For all she knew she could be happy to get rid of him until Christmas.

At last, she was going back to Hogwarts - her favourite place on earth. A place were she always felt warm and fuzzy inside, even though her common room wasn't as warm as the rest of the castle.

The ancient school gave her the feeling of being accepted and welcomed - especially when she was around her closest friends.

Oh, how she had missed the twins and of course Alex and Kate!

Sadly her cousin Tonks wouldn't be at Hogwarts this year- she had finished her N.E.W.T.'s last term and was know starting to train to become an Auror. _Exactly the right job for someone like Tonks_, thought Lyra.

Becoming an Auror was out of question for Lyra. On one hand she didn't want to completely rely on her heritage for the rest of her life, but on the other hand she knew she didn't want to work at the Ministry- something Fred and George's older brother, Percy, was aspiring to do.

Oh yeah, Percy. George had written in his letter that his older brother was a prefect now. He hadn't sounded too excited about that. Whereas Percy had apparently been bragging about it all summer - just what Lyra would expect from him.

Percy had always been a bit of a fun killer - especially when it came to the twins' jokes and pranks (which just happened to target Percy most of the time). Now he actually had the power to take points from them and even send them to detention! This year should be fun ...

But that wasn't what Lyra was concerned about. She was concerned about her father's sudden change in mood when she bid him goodbye with a short wave, before pulling Draco onto the train with her. Lucius had actually smirked when she had set foot on the train. Was he really that happy to get rid of his daughter?

Lyra just sighed and pushed her excited brother down the hall. Draco didn't strike you as someone who was looking forward to attending Hogwarts - but that was just what Malfoys did, and as long as his big sister knew he was excited it was fine anyway.

Sooner than Lyra thought, Draco went into a compartment with two boys in it. It wasn't hard to recognize their chubby faces as the boys of Crabbe Sr. and Mr Goyle - two of her fathers acquaintances.

Lyra despised their fathers not just for being allies with her father but also because they were as smart as sticks - she didn't expect any less from their sons.

After passing a few more compartments she finally found Alex and Kate sitting in one along with Olivia, one of her dorm-mates.

As soon as the raven-haired beauty spotted Lyra she scuffed - probably still mad about Lyra not doing anything to prevent the Weasley twins from pranking her - and got up, bumping into Lyra's shoulder 'on accident' on her way out.

Sighing, Lyra scrunched down on the upholstered seat across from her two friends.

Unfazed by the whole situation, Kate looked up form the newest edition of the _Daily Prophet _and raised her eyebrow at her friend. "Hello, to you too. How was your summer? I'm sure it was great. Mine was also really fun, thanks for asking."

Lyra just chuckled at Kate's sarcastic remark and passed both of her friends a chocolate frog.

"I'm sorry." She laughed. "Olivia wasn't too happy to see me, was she?"

Alec lookes at her with a doubting glance. "Yeah, I don't think she has forgiven you for letting tweedle dee and tweedle dum dye her hair temporarily fiery-red."

"Well, she deserved it, didn't she?" Lyra said, swallowing her chocolate and grinning at her friends.

Although they had exchanged a fair number of letters over the summer (Kate had made sure Lyra didn't miss out on anything that was happening in Sweden) she still had missed them a lot. It was so easy and comfortable to talk to them without worrying too much about what to say. She had missed Fred and George as well, of course, but she was sure they were currently busy selling small joke items to their friends.

Of course, she loved both of the twins dearly, but there was one thing Lyra hated about her relationship with them; they attracted attention wherever they went. And not just that - wherever they were, there were people around that wanted to see their inventions or test them or were just there for the sake of it. It was understandable that Fred and George were so popular but that didn't mean Lyra necessarily liked it. Well, she'd just have to deal with it ...

"You think it's true? That Harry Potter is starting at Hogwarts this year?" Kate had put away her paper and was now indulged in a conversation with Alec.

The boy grinned at her. "I don't just think it's true, I know it is. Father has been talking about it all summer."

"Yeah, mine too." Lyra added, pulling her legs to her chest. "He's been talking about how Potter would make an amazing Slytherin and how he wants Draco to befriend the poor boy."

"Why 'poor boy'?"

"I heard he grew up around Muggles, so it could be possible that he didn't even know he was famous until he got the letter."

Alec chuckled at that. "You really think they didn't know he was a wizard? Why wouldn't they have told them?"

Shrugging, Lyra shot a look to the door where a few overexcited students were gawking in their compartment. "Don't know, it was just a suspicion. What do you think _they're_ doing?"

At that exact moment one of the students, a small girl with bushy brown hair and rather large front teeth, opened the compartment door and checked them out with an evident sneer on her face. "Have you seen a toad? A friend of mine has lost his and we are looking for it." The girl said with an arrogant voice.

Alec apparently had wanted to say something inappropriate, because Kate had pinched him at just the right moment. She smiled at the girl and shook her head. "No, we haven't seen one."

"But we'll make sure to send it to you per owl if we find it." Alec murmured, looking down at his feet.

The bushy haired girl nodded with the same sneer she had on her face the whole time, turned around on her feet and left the compartment - leaving the door open.

Kate, who was pretty pissed at Alec for behaving like an asshole all the time, was now starting to argue with the raven-haired boy. But Lyra tuned them out and instead turned all of her attention to the open door.

Maybe she should go and look for the twins. They would probably be pissed if she didn't. But then again, there would be a lot of people ...

With a sigh she got up from her seat and grabbed her robes. Might as well change when she was already going down the train.

Lyra informed her two, still arguing (now about Quidditch) friends of her plan and left with a quick pull at the compartment door.

She wasn't even fully out of her own compartment when three boys came storming past her. One of them she recognized as her little brother. Then the other two must be Crabbe and Goyle - those rats.

"Stop! Don't move!" A small voice called out to her. It came out of the compartment that Draco and his two companions had stormed out of.

Lyra glanced at the floor, only to spot a familiar looking rat, lying on the floor - not moving. Gently she picked it up and looked at the red-haired owner of the animal. Ron? Wasn't that Ron Weasley? She had met him last winter, when she had spent a week at the Burrow! He was Fred and George's younger brother. And the rat was called Scabbers - he was Percy's pet. But what was it doing with Ron then?

"Malfoy?" Ron seemed to be just as surprised to see her. She vividly remembered him avoiding her pretty much all week last winter. Seems like not every Weasley puts their trusts in Malfoys. (understandable)

But instead of starting a real conversation with the boy she just handed Scabbers over to him with a indifferent look on her face. "Maybe you should take better care of your pets, Ronald. I realised you don't have a very functioning owl as well."

Ron really would have liked to punch her for that comment. She even had the nerve to send him a spiteful smile before moving along the hallway! Who does she think she is!? What do Fred and George even want with her?

"Who was that?" Harry asked him after Ron had pulled the compartment door shut with a loud bang. With an angry look he slumped down onto the bench and threw Scabbers next to him.

"Lyra Malfoy. She's Draco MalfoyMalfoy's older sister. Same year as Fred and George."

"She doesn't seem too kind either..."

Ron scuffed at that. "Not to me, she isn't. Guess she's looking for my brothers. They are best friends or something like that."

Harry looked surprised at that piece of information. "They are friends?"

"Yeah. They even brought her to the Burrow last winter." Ron opened another bag of _Bertie Botts_ _Every Flavoures Beans_. "I personally think her father has sent her on a secret mission in which she is supposed to spy on us or something."

"So, I guess you don't really like her?"

"No! Dad doesn't either. But Fred and George keep saying she's completely fine, so I guess ... ugh, this is a vomit flavoured one."

But Lyra didn't hear any of that conversation anymore. She had already changed into her robes in an empty compartment along the way when she finally found the twins.

They were sitting in a compartment with Lee Jordan, Angelina Johnson and Alicia Spinnet- two of the Gryffindor Quidditch team chasers. They greeted her with a loud 'Hey' before settling back onto something in Lee's hand.

"Hello, to you too?" She laughed and slumped down onto the seat between Alicia and George. "What's that in your hand?" Lyra asked, directing the question to the moving thing in Lee's hands.

She knew that Lee had a whole animal shelter at home, but she didn't think he'd ever bring one of them to Hogwarts with him, especially because some of his animals were considered dangerous. But honestly, as long as he didn't bring an Erkling, Lyra would be fine.

"Tarantula." The dark-skinned boy answered, still focused thoroughly on his animal.

Shaking her head in disgust, Lyra leaned back in her seat. How she hated spiders! It wasn't that she was arachnophobic, but she certainly didn't like the beasts either - they made awful noises when the crawled and their spindly legs were just digusting.

George, who seemed to have mutual disgust, smiled at her and nodded to the door. Without an exchange of words they both got up and left their obsessed friends behind.

"Don't like spiders, huh? Gotta write that down for future reference." George chuckled, leaning against one of the windows in the hall after they'd left the compartment. Lyra chuckled and leaned opposite of him. There was a comfortable silence between them for a while, only the distant sounds of Hogwarts students chattering excitedly and the train on the rail tracks interrupting it.

"You think Fred's going to behave normal again this year?" George broke the silence after a group of small first-years had run by them.

Lyra jumped barely noticable at the sudden sound of his voice. "What? About what?" Of course she knew what he was referring to.

There was a short pause between them in which George inspected her facial expressions thoroughly with concern.

"You alright?" He asked, moving his hands from their fold into the front pockets of his worn jeans. He knew it was a risky question with her, but what was he supposed to do? Patience was definitely more one of his traits than it was one of Fred's, but not when it came to the people he actually cared about.

"Yeah ... yeah." Lyra murmured - more to herself than anyone else. Her gaze went from the passing landscapes outside to her feet on the ground. "I just kind of have gotten-"

"Jumpy over the summer? Yeah, I realised that." Another longer pause. "You wanna talk about it?"

Lyra looked up at him. Again his response (or interruption) had taken her by surprise. "No ... I mean yeah - I mean-" She sighed. "- Not right know, but thanks."

One more time George shot her a concerned look before forming a smile. "You wanna go back to the others? I'm sure they'll be finished with admiring Heidi by now."

With a nod from Lyra, the two made their way down the corridor to find their compartment. But an abrupt stop from Lyra made George bump into her with a low shriek.

"Wait! Heidi? Who names their tarantula Heidi?"

"I don't know! But what I know is that you just took my dignity and dragged it through the mud!"

With a laugh at George's slightly embarrassed look, Lyra opened the door to the compartment and settled down next to Alicia, who had fallen asleep on Lee's shoulder.

-oOo-

At the Hogwarts feast it was finally confirmed that Harry Potter would be attending Hogwarts this year. Rumours had spread that he would be put in Slytherin because of his past with the Dark Lord. Personally, Lyra thought he'd be put in Gryffindor - the Sorting Hat mostly tried to fullfill peoples housewishes and the poor Potter boy didn't strike you as someone who'd want to be in the house of his parents' murderer.

But honestly Lyra didn't really care about the whole Potter family story. She was aware that he was incredibly special for surviving the killing curse but other than that she didn't understand the hype about him. The poor boy had probably grown up with people staring at him from all sides just to get a glimpse of 'the boy who lived'.

It wasn't until "Longbottom, Neville" was called onto the stool by Professor McGonnagall's stern voice that Lyra started paying attention to the sorting ceremony. Longbottom turned out to be the name of the boy who had lost his toad on the Hogwarts Express. He got sorted into Gryffindor - much to the surprise of everyone in the room. But Lyra didn't care - her little brother would be next and although she was certain he'd be sitting next to her at any given moment she was still nervous for him.

When McGonnagall finally called "Malfoy, Draco" to the front, Lyra felt more than just one pair of eyes on her. Nevertheless, her eyes stayed focused on Draco. The sorting hat barely touched the tip of his blonde hair before exclaiming "Slytherin" rather loudly. Their house table started clapping and Alec even gave Lyra an approving nod. With a broad grin and a reassuring pat on the shoulder she welcomed her little brother to Slytherin house - she wouldn't have it any other way.

Surprisingly the Patil twins, Padma and Parvati, were put in seperate houses, Ravenclaw and Gryffindor, which seemed to not only shock the two of them but Fred and George as well. Lyra glanced over to them as they shot each other wide eyes glances before turning their attention back to McGonnagall. She didn't want to think about how the twins would have done without one another.

After "Parkinson, Pansy" had been sorted into Slytherin and the table had errupted into another round of applause, the school fell into a silence filled with anticipation. Everyone knew who was next and everyone was excited to see if the famous boy who lived would soon sit next to them at their table.

The sorting hat took an unsurprisingly long time with sorting Potter into a house. What wasn't surprising was that Lyra had guessed correctly when he was sorted into Gryffindor. The three heavy silver sickles, that Alec placed in her hand with an annoyed glance, just added to her confidence.

"I was so sure he'd be a Hufflepuff." The raven haired boy murmured looking longingly at the empty plate in front of him. Lyra only chuckled, shooting Kate a grin, who was sitting across from her.

She followed the rest of the sorting ceremony with a lack of interest, until the name "Weasley, Ronald" was called and she turned her head toward the Gryffindor table. There was Percy who was looking even more anticipated than ever, stretching his head out so he could get a glimpse at his youngest brother. And then there were Fred and George who were indulged in a small conversation with the poor Potter boy.

But instead of looking whether Ron would make it into the same house as his family members (which she was fairly sure of) she looked up at the beautifully enchanted ceiling which was showing a velvety black sky dotted with stars. Oh, how she had missed Hogwarts and it's magic. This summer had been so horrible she didn't even want to admit it to herself. Since Draco was now at Hogwarts she didn't have to worry about him getting involved with their father's stupid antics anymore.

God, how she hated him ...

Lyra hadn't _forgotten_ to tell George about the slapping incident - of course not - but she still had a reputation to keep up. A reputation which had almost been lost because of her friendship with the Weasleys. Luckily being a Malfoy made up for some of her mistakes - even though _she_ didn't call them mistakes. Although her parents definitely did.

\- oOo -

"George! Stop! I can't keep up!" Lyra's laugh echoed through the halls of the school, her footsteps mixing with the ones of the boy in front of her. George was pulling her - his hand in hers - at an alarming pace through the empty corridors of the castle. Lyra had absolutely no idea where he was leading her, but it must be important enough to make her skip her _Care of Magical Creatures _lesson with Professor Kettleburn. They had been tending to salamanders in the last lesson after studying their theory for almost one month. Personally, Lyra had been looking forward to meeting her little Salamander again today, but George had pulled her aside right after lunch to tell her he had wanted to talk.

"Where the hell are you taking me?" Lyra asked with another laugh, evidently out of breath.

George just grinned at her before looking back onto the _Marauder's Map_ in his right hand. "Oh, come on, Malfoy! Wouldn't be fun if I told you now, would it?"

Shaking her head and drawing in another deep breath, Lyra followed George's lead further into the castle.

"I just think that if you'd tell me where we are going I could help you find it!"

At that George only threw the map in her face. No response followed.

Picking up the map from the ground, she froze; George was right in front of her, his back turned, but she could still make out what he was doing. "Georgie?"

The red-haired boy was tickling a pear on a painting. He was_tickling _a _pear _on a frickin' _painting!_ What in Merlin's name was he meaning to achieve?! But Lyra's confusion answered itself pretty quickly, as the pear turned into a greenish door handle. With one last glance to the girl behind him, George pulled down the handle and a door opened right next to the painting.

In awe by whatever George had just done, Lyra followed him into a room about the size of the Great Hall. Clutching the Marauders Map to her chest she watched as many little houseleves scathered around what looked like the kitchens. They were preparing food and washing dishes and cleaning and that with much more enthusiasm than Dobby had ever shown at the manor. (understandable)

George had taken her hand again and was now leading her to one on of the four tables, which looked identical to the ones in the Great Hall.

"Mr. Weasley, sir! Lilith is surprised! ... Can I do anything for you, Mr. Weasley, sir?" An overenthusiastic little elf had waddled to them and was now staring at George with it's big, brown eyes.

"Yeah, Lilith, just two treacle tarts and two butterbeers.", George smiled and motioned for Lyra to sit down next to her at the table. The two sat in silence for a while, watching the little houseleves work enthusiastically. After a while, the houself, Lilith, brought them their order and when Lyra thanked her she beamed with happiness.

"How did I not know about this?", Lyra asked George, still looking surprised.

George only chuckled. "Well, Fred and I discovered the kitchens just at the end of last year. Found it on the map - pretty well hidden by the Hufflepuff common room though ... We were hungry and it was the middle of the night so-" He swallowed. "We kinda just went here and have been going every now and then. The elves like us and are always pretty happy when they get some company aside from each other."

"That's-" Lyra scanned the room again. "- nice, I guess." She looked down at her plate, tucking a straw of her hair behind her ear. The treacle trat suddenly looked very interesting to her.

Seeing all these houselves just made her feel ... nervous. She immediately had to think of Dobby and how awful her father treated him sometimes.

"Hey, you okay? We can go if you'd like."

Oh, and how she had missed that tone in his voice. This was the tone his voice took everytime they were alone with one another. But in the past few weeks they hadn't had the chance to be _really _alone. There would be Fred around or Kate or Alec and the possibility to hear this kind of kind concern in his voice just simply disappeared. Lyra felt hear cheeks go slightly red when she caught herself thinking about it.

"Um ..." She stuttered, taking another piece of her hair between her fingers, still looking at her plate. "No, I mean - ugh, I hate this." Why did she always start stuttering when asked a question like that? An uncomfortable feeling started setting in her stomach, on top of another one that had been there ever since lunch.

With a reassuring smile, George pushed Lyra's plate (which she had subconsciously pushed away) back to her and took her slightly trembling hand. "Hey, I already told you that you can talk to me about anything. You know that, right?"

Nodding, Lyra slowly pulled her hand out of his. This was getting too much for her. The air in the kitchens was thin as it was but it just kept getting thinner with each one of George's gestures. When he had taken her hand just now, her heart had started beating rapidly and she couldn't take _that _on top of the houselves loud working weighing down on her conscious.

George wasn't startled by Lyra's action at all - he just kept smiling reassuringly at her.

With one last deep breath Lyra got up from her seat and looked around the kitchens. "Thank you!", she exclaimed loudly to the small creatures in the room before hurrying out - expecting George to follow her. Maybe, she didn't know where she was heading but she needed somewhere she could talk to George without worrying about anyone interrupting them.

She stopped in front of an abandoned classroom - the twins and her had discovered it with help of the Marauders Map a few months ago and used it here and there to plot some of their jokes and pranks.

Shortly after Lyra had entered, she heard the door fall shut behind her and silence fell onto the room - heavy silence.

The young girl didn't want to hold it in any longer. All of a sudden, she felt a burst of emotions rush through her. It seemed as if the elves had been the tip of the iceberg - on top of a whole summer full of emotions.

With one loud sigh she fell into George's arms, hugging him as if her life was depending on it. How hadn't she realised that boiling up all the hatred and anger she had felt towards her family in the summer and all her other emotions would lead her to an emotional outburst like this? How had she been supposed to know that it would be George - George of all people - to be there with her? You can't prepare for something like this! It just comes and goes whenever it wants!

But as much as she wanted to right then and there, Lyra didn't cry. There were no tears, not even a hint of real, genuine sadness in her eyes. Only anger and affection and stress.

And George's arms - wrapped around her like a warm blanket - they were there too. They gave the feeling of affection back to Lyra and she knew, that he felt the same fuzzy warmth in his stomach whenever they were together. But that didn't change anything - it never could.

After what felt like almost half an hour, Lyra finally parted from George's grasp around her. She knew the school bell would ring at any given moment and she still had to offer him an explanation. So the two of them sat down on one of the dusty, old desks and started talking. Lyra talked about her summer and what happened with her father and how she was planning to visit the Burrow more often and how she missed Tonks and how she didn't like the way Draco pretended to be someone he's not. The houself subject was just rushed through before Lyra drew in another deep breath and let her head fall onto George's shoulder.

"You know what, Georgie?"

"What?"

"I think this helped me more than you initially thought it would ..."

"You think so?"

Lyra only hummed as a response, closing her eyes and waiting for the bell to ring.

But George had other things on his mind. It had been his intention to talk to her but he hadn't expected to hear _everything. _This girl next to him had some true courage in her that would've made her the perfect Gryffindor, but he didn't_ really _want that. He liked his little Slytherin Princess the way she was - even if it meant going through some serious conversations like this. After a while of thinking, he as well closed his eyes and waited for the bell to ring.

\- oOo -

**Author's Note: **Puh, well this was certainly fun.

Don't forget to review and have a nice weekend ;)

Love, Lisa


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